Beauty and the Beast
by ariescelestial
Summary: Alice and Death Emperor have both seen a man in the West Wing but when they try to find him, there is nothing but dust. Formatting errors should be fixed now.
1. Introductions

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Disclaimer: I do not own Shadow Hearts or Beauty and the Beast.

**

"Are you sure I can't come with, Papa?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

He shook his head, already on top of Philippe. "No, Alice. I'll be away for quite a while. Someone has to look after the house."

"I know," I said glumly. "Take care, Papa. Come back safe."

"I will. Don't worry Alice. You can come along next time, I promise."

I nodded. I wanted to learn how to be an excellent exorcist, like my father. I knew I could be, I even had the talent for it. That had been proven when I had first heard my mother's voice and discovered she hadn't been able to rest in peace.

Often I came along with my father, but sometimes, like now, he had to go for a week or longer. Then I would be left to stay behind and take care of things.

"Goodbye, Papa!" I called after my father as he rode off. "Good luck!"

"Goodbye, Alice!"

**

[A week later]

My chores were done and I began rereading one of my favorite books. It was a romance story, as I'll admit those are my weakness. It was about a beautiful girl who was rescued by a prince, disguised as a commoner, and fell in love. I sighed as I read the book; how I wished so much something like that would happen to me.

I even had someone that the prince could rescue me from.

A knock came from the door, bringing me out of my reverie. "Just a minute," I called, placing a sheet of paper at my place in the book. I opened the door and instantly Wugui walked in, looking rather dressed up. "Wugui, what a pleasant surprise," I said. He was the pest my prince could rescue me from. But there was no reason for me to be rude to him; it was just that he was a little too persistent for my liking.

"Aren't I just full of surprises?" he said arrogantly. "Alice, this is the day-" Catching sight of himself in a little mirror, he gave a small 'hmm' and devoted the next few seconds to picking something out of his teeth with his tongue. Vain and rude. I pretended that I hadn't noticed. Once he was done, he continued, "Alice, this is the day your dreams come true."

I laughed, wondering what he thought my dreams were. "What would you know about my dreams?"

"Plenty," he said, sitting himself down at the table. "Picture this: a spacious manor, me coming in after a hard day's work…" He put his boots up on the table, right on top of my book. By now I was trying very hard not to show my displeasure. "My little wife, massaging my feet as the cook makes us dinner…"

"How wonderful," I said absently as I took the book. I quickly wiped it off and put it back on the shelf.

"Do you know who my wife will be?"

"Let me see…"

Wugui pressed two hands against the bookshelf around me, making me turn around. He leered at me. "You, Alice."

_Is this…a proposal?!_

"Wugui, what a-an honor," I said, ducking under his arms. I started backing away to the door, where I could hear people's voices and laughter. "I'm speechless, I-I don't know what to say-"

"Say you'll marry me," he told me, once again leaning over me. He had a whole wedding already prepared outside, didn't he?

"Wugui, I'm sorry, but--" I fumbled for the doorknob as I realized he was leaning in to kiss me. "I'm just not worthy," I finished, finding the doorknob not a second too soon. I twisted it and opened the door, throwing him off balance and down the stairs. Wedding music began playing outside and I closed the door quickly.

His retaliation came seconds later as he pounded on the door. It shuddered behind me and I put all my weight against it. "You little wench! Can't you tell when someone's doing you a favor?! No one else would even consider marrying you! Your father's a lunatic-"

"He's an exorcist!" I yelled back.

"And apparently you take after him! Reading those silly books, getting idiotic ideas--You'll die a penniless old maid!"

Voices joined his outside, some expressing their approval of what he said, others trying to placate him.

I knew…I knew I shouldn't let myself be upset by his words, but I was upset all the same. Partly because I knew he was right. I knew about the gossip in town about my father and me. No one would want me as a wife, except Wugui.

My father had once asked me to consider him as a possibility, since after all he was trying to court me and his family was very influential. His family's power…that was what he depended on. There was nothing else to him. He was boorish, arrogant, vain, rude…but everyone looked up to him all the same, because he had money and influence.

Luckily my father had dropped it when I told him I couldn't, but Wugui never understood. For a while, I entertained the idea of going outside and giving him a good slap in the face, to see if that would make him understand.

When I looked outside, I found that no one was around. They had already left. Thank goodness. "Madame Wugui," I said, shaking my head. I couldn't imagine myself as that.

I walked out and went to the barrel of feed we kept for the chickens. Gathering a handful, I bent down to the ground while the eager hens came and ate from my hand. "How can I make them understand me?" I wondered aloud. Papa and I had moved here five years ago, and I still felt like a complete stranger to these people. My hands now empty, I left the hens and walked towards the field. The afternoon sun was still bright and warm, calming me--until I heard Philippe's neigh.

"Papa!" I yelled, running towards the horse to meet my father. It was then that I noticed that Philippe had no rider, and my insides turned cold despite the warm light. "What happened? What happened to Papa, Philippe?" I asked, grabbing the reins. I felt like a fool when I realized of course that the horse couldn't tell me what had occurred. Quickly I mounted him and said in his ear, "Take me to Papa."

**

"We're getting close," I murmured. It was just a feeling I had, but I'd learned long ago my intuitions were usually right. Philippe was getting more nervous by the minute. "Steady boy," I said soothingly.

Then I saw where Philippe was leading me to: a large, dark castle. It was in disrepair, seeming like no one had lived inside for a while. But this had to be where Papa was. I knew because, coming up to the giant iron gate, I saw Papa's hat lying inside. Getting off of Philippe, I pushed the gate open and led him in, then closed it again and tied his reins around the bars, making sure he'd stay there.

I looked at the castle, feeling a bit of trepidation. If Papa was here, what kept him here? A ghost, or some poltergeist? And if he couldn't handle it…

How could I?

_I'm not doing anything just standing here_, I thought. I forced my legs to walk forward, into the castle, while fighting down the urge to just run away. _Papa needs my help_.

Once inside, I looked around. No candles were lit…that made it seem like the castle really was abandoned, but I thought I could sense people in here, near me. The thought was frightening and I searched again. In the dark gloom, I made out a candleholder and a clock, nothing more. I laughed suddenly with giddy relief. There wasn't any malice in here, but someone was definitely here. Maybe they could help me.

"Hello?" I called out, making my way up one of the huge staircases. "Papa? Are you here?"

No answer came to me, but I continued to call as I made my way up. "Papa? Anyone?"

My father definitely wasn't here then, but…someone definitely was. It felt like more than one person. Why wouldn't they answer me?

"Please help me! I'm looking for my father…"

I stopped as I realized that I had already gone through this hallway. I needed to be careful; I could easily get lost in this place. That wasn't an appealing thought, spending the night in this gloomy castle.

"-could be the one?"

My head turned towards a set of narrow stone stairs, and I saw a flash of light that disappeared past the bend. I chased after it, calling out, "Wait! Wait, please!"

I reached the top of the stairs but saw no one. The room I was in was a prison, with some cells on both sides of the room "That's funny…I was sure I heard someone…"

Someone coughed violently, and a weak voice called, "Alice?"

"Papa!" I ran to the door as his hands stuck out of the bars. Grabbing one of them, I was startled at how cold it was. "Papa, your hands are like ice," I said worriedly. "I'm going to get you out of here."

He shook his head. "There's no time. You've got to get out of here, right now!"

A sudden breeze blew out the candle, but I could still see my father's face suddenly pale. Someone was here. I turned around and demanded, "Who are you?"

"The master of this castle," came the answer, almost as a growl. A figure in a ratty purple cloak stood in the shadows, looking at me. "That man is my prisoner."

"He's my father. He's done nothing wrong," I answered.

"He trespassed here, as you are doing right now."

"He's sick, don't you see that!" I said desperately. "He might die."

"He is my prisoner, I can do whatever I want with him!"

_How can he be so cold?_ I wondered. I looked down at my father, who was coughing again. This damp air wasn't good for him at all. If he stayed here long…I struck on an idea. "Then take me as your prisoner."

"No, Alice!"

The man seemed intrigued by the prospect. "You would do that…for your father?"

"If I did, would you let him go?" I asked.

He considered and then nodded.

"Then I'll be your prisoner."

"Done." The figure stepped past me to the door. In disbelief, I fell to the floor, wondering what I'd just gotten myself into. I felt my father's hands on my shoulders as he told me, "Alice, I'm old, I've lived my life-"

His voice was suddenly cut off and his hands were taken off. I looked up in time to see my father being dragged away by the man. "Papa!" I cried out.

"Alice!"

And then he was gone, already gone. I was already all alone. "Papa…pa…" I choked on the tears that were rising, now coursing down my cheeks. I'd never see him again. I'd just agreed to live out the rest of my life in a cell. How long would the rest of my life be?

Footsteps interrupted my black thoughts. Looking up, I saw the dark purple hood and cloak. "He's gone?" I asked.

"Yes. The coach will take him back to the village."

"But I didn't even get to say goodbye. I'm never going to see him again--and you didn't even let me say goodbye…" The tears came fresh and I buried my head in my arms.

He seemed regretful for a bit, but it was probably just my imagination. "I'll…I'll show you to your room."

I looked around, puzzled. "But I thought I was staying here."

"Do you want to stay in the tower?" he demanded, looking at the cell.

"N-no."

He turned around, his cloak sweeping along the floor. "Then follow me." He grabbed the candle and it suddenly lit, giving us more light. He walked down the stairs, leaving me to follow him.

The candlelight did little to make the castle less frightening. If anything, it made it more terrible, because I could see the gargoyle statues at the top of the staircase, staring down at me. Beautiful paintings in ornate frames, lavish decorations--they all seemed like some terrible mockery of what they really were, hideous instead of beautiful.

"You're going to be living here from now on," he told me. It wasn't a question. "You can go anywhere in the castle you want, except the west wing."

"Why?"

"It's forbidden!" The word 'forbidden' echoed in the hallway and I could feel, rather than see, his eyes glaring at me. It was impossible to see him at all; the cloak covered everything, even his face. It made me curious.

"Can I see you?" I asked.

He stopped again. "I'm not invisible."

"Take off your hood," I clarified. He seemed reluctant to do so and I continued, "I would at least like to know the face of my jailer."

"You'll wish you didn't," he muttered darkly, but he took off his hood. I stared for a moment as he stared back at me.

"You're--you're--" I could feel my legs weakening, my vision becoming black.

And the thought that would remain with me for a long time:

_Dear God, I've given myself up to the Devil._

**

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Author's Note:

Well, I did say I wanted to do a Beauty and the Beast/Shadow Hearts fanfic…so I thought I'd better get started on it. Don't worry, Shadow Souls will be continued as usual. This is going to be a more on-the-side thing.

Um…Wugui as Gaston…::sweatdrop:: if Keith was the Beast, I could have made Yuri Wugui, since I can imagine him being like that. But…Yuri's the Beast, and I couldn't imagine Keith being like Gaston, and besides, I didn't really want to wreck either of them (they're both so cute! ::hugs Yuri and Keith::). I also considered making a younger version of Albert Simon Gaston (which would have been **really** bizarre) but Albert Simon would probably like books and be a learned person, not a stupid jerk. So, uh…Wugui (I don't know how old he is! Just pretend he's twenty-something). And since his good looks aren't really that good (sweatdrop), it's more of a political power kind of thing that makes him popular.

I also had Alice faint just because…it seemed better that way.

Um…yeah I cut scenes from the beginning. But it seemed so hard to adapt them for this, and they weren't **that** important…

Yuri: Here we go **again**…and this time I'm being made into a beast, just great…

I **could** sic Regina on you again, you know…

Yuri: No you can't! Different fanfic, she's not in it, hallelujah!

Oh…darn it…well I'll sic her on you again once we get back into Shadow Souls.

Yuri: But then you would be punishing the wrong Yuri.

There's more than one Yuri?

Yuri: ::nods:: Yep! There's SS Yuri and B&B Yuri. We may share the same body, but we are of different minds.

::sweatdrop:: And now I've got a schizophrenic muse…

Yuri: Weren't we schizophrenic before this?

DON'T CALL YOURSELF 'WE'!

Yuri: …what if it's the royal we? Aren't we royalty in here?

…Just shut up, please, you're giving me a headache…

**

One last thing: a lot of the characters from Shadow Hearts are going to be appearing as the objects. You can make suggestions of who should be included and what they should be, but these people are already taken: Alice (duh), Yuri (again, duh), Keith, Margarete, and Zhuzhen.

These objects are taken: the feather duster…thingy, the candle (you can tell who these two are, right?), and the clock.

So um…please read and review!


	2. Awakening

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own Beauty and the Beast or Shadow Hearts.

**

            I awoke on a soft, comfortable bed.  _I must be at home, I thought.  _It was just a dream.  I wonder if Papa is coming back today?_  Since it was still nighttime--I could tell without opening my eyes, there was little light--I buried my head into the pillow.  __What a bad nightmare..._

            "Wake up."  There was a soft push on my arm, a brush against metal.  I moaned.

            "Papa, it's so early...Papa?" I asked eagerly, realizing he must be home.  But then I saw my surroundings, and realized that this wasn't my home.  I was in a large canopy bed, with rich red fabric opened up on all sides.  Through it, I could see a spacious room, sparsely decorated.  One wall had a window, showing tiny snowflakes gently falling-the first snow of the year.

            _The castle...?  Which means...the demon..._

I remembered the skull-like features, and those horrible eyes.  Cold and harsh...I had looked into his eyes, and then I had fainted...someone must have brought me here.  Probably him.

            _This is the room I'm staying in, I suppose...It's better than a cell._

With a horrible start, I realized that my stomach had been empty for a long time. I looked around the room, hoping to see some food.  In the room, there was simply the bed I was in, a dresser, and a table.  The door into the room was slightly ajar.  On the table, there was a glass, filled with wine, a candelabra, and a small clock.  Perhaps the wine could help, but something more solid would be nice.

            Hadn't he said I could go anywhere in the castle?  Hopefully the kitchen wasn't in the West Wing…whichever way was west…

            My hand rested on the door handle and I was ready to step out when a voice said, "Pardon, mademoiselle.  Please allow us to show you around."

            "Otherwise you could get lost," another voice said.  It was a wise, paternal voice, the same that had called me before.  I turned to face the table.  That clock and candelabra…they looked just like the ones I had seen earlier, in the entrance hall.  But no, they were probably just from the same maker…

            Again, I could feel that there were people around me.  They seemed friendly, sympathetic.  "Who are you?" I asked.  "Can you show yourselves?"

            "Why not?"  This voice came from the candelabra and I started as a face appeared in the melted wax.  "Bon soir, mademoiselle.  My name is Keith."

            In the clock appeared a set of experienced eyes and a small mouth.  "I'm Zhuzhen.  I suppose you need to be taken to the kitchens correct?"

            What…What was this…the candle and the clock…they were talking…I stared at the pieces as they peered up at me.  Then I gave a little laugh and sat back down on the bed, my knees feeling suddenly weak.

            "She looks pale.  Koudelka was right.  Here, have some wine."

            "Thank you," I said without thinking about it.  Just a little wine, to calm my nerves…I put the glass to my lips and began to slowly drink.

            "Ohoho!  That tickles!" a giddy, female voice said.

            The exclamation caught me off guard and I put the wine glass on the table as I coughed hard.  Some of the wine had gone down the wrong way.

            "Yuria!  Don't scare the girl while she's drinking!  Now look what you've done…"

            "Are you alright, dear?"  The wine glass sounded as though she were a bit drunk herself.  "I'm sorry, but wine just makes me so tipsy…"

            "I-I'm fine," I gasped.  "Um…could…one of you…please tell me where the kitchens are?"

            "We'll take you there, but first, you might want to change," Zhuzhen said.  I looked down and saw that my clothes were both caked with dried mud and stained with wine.  They looked horrible.  "Quiha, could you help Alice here?"

            "I have some clothes that may fit," a quiet voice said.  I turned and looked at the dresser.  "Come over here and I'll see what might fit."

            "How do you know my name?" I asked the clock.

            "It's on that book you had with you," he said.  I looked and saw my exorcism book that I had taken with lying on the bed.  My name, Alice Elliot, was engraved into the cover.  Thank goodness the demon hadn't taken that away.  Maybe, with that, I could escape from him…I'd have to see.

            "Now, let's see…"  Quiha opened all her drawers and a swarm of moths flew out, making me and the others back away in surprise.  She quickly shut them and seemed quite embarrassed.  "It's been such a long time since we've had any guests here, I'm afraid things have gotten rather dusty," she said apologetically.  This time she slowly opened each door.  "Here we go…now-"

            "He's done it!" a feather duster announced, sweeping into the room gracefully.  "He's gone and shut himself up again in the West Wing."

            "How long do you think he'll be there?" Zhuzhen asked.

            "Who knows?  Last time he spent practically a week in there.  What got him upset anyway?"

            "Well…"

            "Miss Alice, what would you like?" Quiha asked, drawing my attention back to her.  The variety of clothes confused me.

            "Do you have anything…anything plain?  I don't like wearing fancy clothes…"  She began rummaging through the dresses.

            "Hmmm…do you like this?" she asked, holding up a plain, light green dress.  As I shook my head, she said, "Oh, I'm sorry.  That doesn't really suit you at all, does it?  What's your favorite color?"  Taking in my clothing, she asked, "Is it blue, or white?"

            "Actually-"

            "It's pink."

            "How'd you know?" I said, looking down.  But I didn't see the feather duster, who I was sure had been the one speaking.  Then I looked lower and saw the feather duster standing underneath me.  She was looking at my underwear!  Shocked and embarrassed, I sat back down on the bed and pressed my skirt down.  I could feel the blood flushing my face.  "Wh-why-?"

            "Margarete, that was really quite inappropriate," Zhuzhen told her.

            She snorted.  "Really, we're supposed to put our hope in this little girl?  Look how easily she gets startled—and she fainted at the sight of the master—how do any of you think this is going to work?"

            "True love," Yuria suggested.

            "Hmph!  Go ahead and believe in true love then.  But is it true love when one cannot stand the sight of another?"  Margarete fixed me with a look and pronounced, "She won't even last a week here."  And then she swept outside the open door again, leaving as gracefully as she had come.

            _What was that all about?_

**

**Author's Note:  **I think Alice's regular pair of underwear is pink, which is where the favorite color thing comes from.  Yuria is the girl from the bar in Prague who gets drunk and falls asleep in the bathroom.

**

**Reviewrs:**

**Chibi Hime:**  I'm glad you don't mind twists, because I wasn't really planning to go by the movie here.  And Yuri is indeed Death Emperor (he's everyone fave!)

**PoopooPlaTTer:**  I've only watched Beauty and the Beast about four times in my lifetime, but before I started this, I rented it and watched it, keeping in mind that I was about to write a fanfic about it.  I'm glad you liked the corny A/N.

**Tiger5913:**  Yurice?  It sounds kind of like yogurt and rice…O_o.  Hmm…we could call it Ari.  Or Aluri.  It sounds weird no matter what you do.

**The Emerald Guardian:**  Those were the first two that popped in my head when I was thinking these out.  The only thing is, I thought Joshua would make a better Chip than Halley…or maybe I should just make all the London Rats teacups?  ::sweatdrop::  Poor Koudelka…

**Gutterfiend:** Yeah, I guess Wugui is a pretty good Gaston.  Only one from Shadow Hearts who's close to it (except for maybe the freaky guy from Calios…what's his name…except he turns into a pregnant woman.  Bleh.).

**Greyfriars:** Hey, no one said the **reviews** had to be PG, did they?  I don't think anyone likes Wugui.  Unfortunately, since the story is really only loosely based on the movie, I wasn't planning on having songs.  But…I could maybe try adding that song in (the 'tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, beauty and the beast' song?).  I don't know.  I wasn't even really planning on having the dancing scene (can you just imagine Death Emperor doing a waltz???).


	3. The Kitchen

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Disclaimer: Don't own Shadow Hearts or Beauty and the Beast.

**

I held the candle--Keith, I reminded myself--high in the air. His flame burned brighter than I'd ever seen any candle's, but the hall was still full of shadows, dancing and flickering around the light.

"So you all live in this castle?"

"Oui, mademoiselle. We are all servants here."

"And the de--that man, he's your master?"

"Oui," Keith said again.

Zhuzhen and Yuria were walking along the ground, matching my small steps with quick paces. There was a question I wanted to ask so badly but I held it in, afraid of offending them somehow. Instead I was trying to start a conversation that might lead into it.

"I didn't know there was a castle here," I said finally. "I moved here about five years ago, but none of the villagers ever told us about a castle."

"It's been a long time since it's had any real influence." This time Zhuzhen had answered my question. "Nearly twenty-five years…"

"Why?" I asked. "What happened here?" The last question was blurted out before I could stop it, but that was what I wanted to know. What had happened to change a magnificent castle…into this?

"You should ask the master that," he said, with a cool tone.

I knew I shouldn't have asked.

"Oh! It's the girl!"

A small teacup had bounced towards us and was now looking up at me. "Hi miss!" He yelled up to me. The voice sounded like that of a young boy.

"Hello," I replied uncertainly.

"Joshua, where are you?!" Another teacup hopped into the hallway, first looking at the teacup and then at me. "Oh wow! There really **is** a girl!"

"See, I told you," the first said in a smug voice.

The girl beamed up at me. "Hi. My name is Sharon. I'm Joshua's wife."

"His wife?"

"I said no! I'm not playing house!"

"But you have to Joshua! The baby needs a daddy."

"Nuh uh!" The boy teacup ran off, making the girl chase after him, shouting for him to come back.

While I wasn't shocked as before, I was still surprised. They were both children…they seemed so innocent. What were they doing in this castle?

"You haven't seen them, have you?"

This was said by a teapot, who had also entered from the door. I was guessing it probably led to the kitchen. She had an expression of long-suffering.

"They went that way," Zhuzhen said, pointing in the direction we had come from.

The teapot sighed, then turned back to the open door and yelled, "Halley, you take care of things for our guest. Get some food from the pantry."

"Sure thing."

"I'll go round those two up and see if I can get them to sleep while **some** of the night's still left," she muttered as she hopped off in pursuit. I wondered if she was their mother and had the odd image of teacups popping out of teapots.

"Well…let's go in," Keith said, startling me. Looking down, I saw that Zhuzhen and Yuria were already entering the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen was chaos, seeming like out of a dream. The oven was cooking something inside while at least two dozen forks and knives were trying (rather unsuccessfully) to straighten a dusty tablecloth on top of an even dustier tabletop while a teacup directed them. A plate laid out on the table was shrieking as it swerved dangerously close to each side. Zhuzhen was yelling for all utensils to stop tugging so hard, then directed a group of chatting spoons to help.

"Here, let me help," I said, marching over to the table and setting Keith down. In a few seconds, I had the tablecloth straightened out. Then I gave it a few quick swipes to get the dust off; it flew into the air and I started coughing.

"Sorry," the directing teacup said. "Everything's a little dusty. We've gotten too lax."

"That's true," Keith said. "We haven't had a reason to clean, really, in…almost ten years now." He frowned, looking at me, and then said, "We'll have to fix that now."

"Oh, is she here?" A voice called from the pantry. "I got some cheese--aah!" There was a sound of china hitting the floor, and giggles.

"You've still got two left feet, and you don't even have legs."

"Shove off," an irritated teacup told Yuria. With the help of a spoon and knife, he carried the food into the kitchen. Once he had given the load to Zhuzhen, I could see his rim, full of tiny cracks.

Yuria noticed me looking and announced, "This is Chip."

The teacup made an odd growling noise. "Call me that one more time, and **you'll** be chipped…name's Halley."

"I'm Alice."

He looked at me curiously. "Well…she **is** pretty."

Yuria scoffed. "You can't judge by that alone, Halley."

Halley rolled his eyes and then called out to the other teacup, "Hey, Chris! What do you think?"

She also looked me up and down. I got the strange feeling that **I** was the object here, not them. "I think she's nice. What's that book you got?" she asked.

"My bible." I took the book in both hands and showed it to her.

"…oh."

I sat down at the table and nibbled at the cheese little by little. It was a strong cheese, but tasted good. Finally the meal was done, and I began my supper--or breakfast, as the sun was beginning to rise.

Between bites, I asked Keith, "Do you think you could show me around the castle?" The candle exchanged glances with Zhuzhen, seeming a bit apprehensive. "Or should I ask someone else…?"

"No, but…the West wing is-"

"Forbidden, I know."

He sighed. "The master already told you?"

I nodded, but feeling curious again, asked, "What's in there? Do you know?"

"Hm…I remember the piano in there," Keith said. "Really, there wasn't much. Although it's been ten years, so it could have changed."

Zhuzhen snorted. "It's probably gotten dustier…Margarete will have quite a bit of work to do."

**

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Author's Note: ::blows the dust off and coughs:: o.o

**

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Reviewers:

Kupo Stiltzkin: Uh, well this wasn't exactly timely…::cringes::

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Chibi Hime: Ah, we haven't gotten around to Alice and Yuri yet. Though it should be in the next chapter.

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Gutterfiend: I can't either.

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Milia: I could see them dancing if this was a parody. But as it is…It would be very odd if they were dancing.

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Greyfriars: o.o Right now, I am tempted to agree with Bacon.

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Araschid: I think you can get the black panties from Old Carl if your bestiary is complete…for anyone who cares…


	4. Yuri

**Disclaimer:  **Don't own Shadow Hearts or Beauty and the Beast.

**

            Keith and Zhuzhen both walked in front of me as they guided me through the castle.  Zhuzhen explained the architecture and design of the castle—he had a great deal of knowledge on the subject—while Keith introduced me to some of the other servants living in the castle.  I met Quiha's father, Zhen, a polite coat hanger, and Jack, a tall grandfather clock with a slowly swinging pendulum.  I was starting to feel very sleepy as I watched him until Keith urged me out of the room.  Zhuzhen stayed behind to chastise Jack for using hypnotism on me.  Keith explained that Jack had been a hypnotist before.  "Probably wanted to see that he hasn't gotten rusty," he muttered.

            Zhuzhen shook his head as he walked out.  "Honestly."

            I laughed.  "There's so many interesting people in here."

            "And animals," Keith said.  "Zhuzhen, you'd better—"

            Zhuzhen got bowled over as a footrest jumped at me.  I flung my hands out and actually caught it.  The footrest began nuzzling my face with one of its tassels.  "What on earth…?"

            "Gods, I hate that dog," the small clock complained as it got back up.

            "That's Tiny," Keith said.  Once the dog had come, he'd extinguished his lights.  The sunlight was enough now.

            "He's not that small."

            "Sharon and Joshua named him when he was a puppy.   They didn't understand that he would get bigger," Keith said, sounding amused.  "I think he likes you."

            I giggled, realizing that Tiny was trying to lick me—but with only a tassel.  I put him on the ground and then started petting him.  He rolled over onto his back and let me scratch his stomach, both tassels on either end flying wildly around.  "Good boy."

            A shadow was cast over Tiny and me.  I knew by now who it would be, but I was still surprised to see the old cloak.  The hood was pulled over his face again.  I was glad for that.  "Good morning."

            "Good morning," the demon said, sounding slightly surprised.  "Are you feeling well?"

            "Yes, thank you."  I felt sick as it rushed back to me that I was not a guest, but a prisoner for life here.  He sensed my discomfort and reached forward, as if to comfort me—I stiffened, remembering the claws, and he pulled back.

            He turned to Zhuzhen and asked, "So you're showing her around?"

            "Yes, master."

            "Good."

            The demon looked at me again, but I didn't look up from scratching Tiny.

            "Your father returned home safely."

            I stopped.  It was like something inside of me had just snapped.  Tiny looked up and barked, nuzzling my hand.  But I didn't move.  It seemed cruel of him to remind me that my father was at home.  Home, and I could never return there.

            I was all alone, with no human companions.  The only one that seemed remotely human here was him, and he was also the furthest from being human.  In a night, he had taken everything from me.

            He once again reached out, saying, "Please don't—"

            "_Stay away from me, devil._"

            The demon froze, staring at me as the tears brimmed over, onto my face.  I glared at him until I could stand the sight of him no longer, and ran away.

            "Mademoiselle!" Keith shouted.

            I ran past Margarete, idly dusting a table.  "Scared again?" she asked caustically.  It didn't matter.  I didn't care what she said.  I ran until I was out of breath.  Then I collapsed on a divan and cried.  I couldn't stop; every time I tried to, I would feel pathetic for having cried in the first place and the tears would start fresh.

            Finally I fell asleep, my energy spent and my head throbbing.  I dreamt my father and I had been rescued yesterday by a knight, and that we were already back home; the knight had a soft smile but a shadowed face.  He was on his knees—he was asking me—a cold wind brushed me and I woke up, despairing to find myself in the castle once again.

            I lay still, not bothering to move.  Far away, they were calling for me—I could hear faint echoes of Keith's voice—I didn't care.  The demon probably hated me, and I hated him.  What was the point?

            Maybe Keith and Zhuzhen were worried…but I couldn't see them now.  I still felt miserable from my cry, and probably looked a mess.  And what if they were mad about what I'd said…?  After all, he was their master.  I listened to make sure that they weren't coming closer to me and picked out another sound.

            There was a piano playing.  It was a beautiful tune, sad and haunting.  It seemed like the person playing it was feeling the exact way I felt, like they knew my emotions.

            …Who was playing it?  It was a complex melody—none of the servants I had seen so far could possibly manage it—the demon?  I couldn't imagine it…

            Intrigued, I followed the music down the halls, trying to find its source.  The low notes led me to large doors.  Even from outside of them, I could sense something very strange within.  It was not a person; it was not a spirit; it was not a demon.  It was indefinable.  Finally, I pushed open the door, wanting to see what on earth could be playing.

            The piano was playing by itself.  The keys were being depressed on their own—no!  Even as I watched, I could see a man appearing, only a hazy light against the wood of the piano.  A ghost?  No, he felt different.

            He went through the song one last time.  It began on light notes but fell quickly into mourning, from fantastic dream to dismal reality.  Then he stopped and turned to me.  He had dark hair and eyes and a pleasant expression.  "Bonjour mademoiselle."

            "Bonjour," I replied.  "Who…are you?"

            "Yuri Hyuga," he said, smiling.  "And you are Alice Elliot?"

            "How did you know?"

            "Death Emperor entertains few guests," he said, with just a hint of sarcasm in the statement.

            "Who…?"

            "The devil you saw."

            So that was his name.  Death Emperor.  It suited him.

            "Yuri, I thought I was the only person here," I said.  "You are…human, right?"

            His smile broadened.  It seemed strange compared to the depressing song he had played before.  "I am."

            "Are you a prisoner too?  What are you doing here?"

            Yuri's smile slowly faded.  "I am the master of this castle.  At least, I was until a while ago.  Death Emperor took control.  I am kept prisoner here, in the West Wing."

            I was startled to realize that I was indeed in the West Wing.  Zhuzhen had mentioned a piano; it was the most prominent feature in the room, although there were many more things, most ruined.  "What if he finds me—"

            "Don't worry," Yuri said with a smirk.  "Once he comes here, he stays away for a while.  I think he's growing bored of me."

            _He seems to know Death Emperor's habits.  _"How long have you been a prisoner?"

            Once again, his expression became pained.  "It's been a long time since I've seen anyone **but** him."  He looked on my face and quickly said, "Don't worry about me.  I've just been lonely, that's all."

            "Well…"  I said, hesitant and eager at the same time, "If he's not going to come back for a while, we could keep each other company…"

            His entire face brightened with joy.  "I'd like that."  He gestured to the piano and asked, "Do you know how to play?"

            "Um…"  I approached the bench nervously.  "I haven't played in years…I know how to read music but that's it."

            Yuri slid off the bench and let me sit down.  "Let me find you something to play…here."  He slid a sheet of music in front of me.  I chewed my lip, knowing that it should be simple, but it looked so difficult…  I began playing.  Yuri corrected me gently as I played, his touch as light as a feather as it guided me to the right keys…

            "You remember well," he said as I finished.  His gentle hands still rested on mine, and I realized how warm they were.  I got up off the bench quickly and smiled at him.

            "Thank you Yuri."

            "It's been a while since Death Emperor has seen you, hasn't it?" Yuri said.  I nodded, knowing I must have slept for at least an hour.  "He'll get suspicious if you're here much longer."

            He was probably right.  I nodded and went to the doors, then stopped.  "I'll come again," I promised.

            He smiled, still shining, seeming not quite real.  "I'll be looking forward to it."

**

**Author's Note:**

::blows off fanfic dust::  ::chokes on dust clouds:: x.x  I got to start updating this more often.__


	5. Death Emperor

**Disclaimer:  **Don't own Shadow Hearts…or Beauty and the Beast!  ;.;

**

            After leaving the West Wing, I wandered aimlessly through the halls.  I was hopelessly lost; in my desire to flee from the devil I had paid no attention where I was going.  Now I gave careful notice to where I was going, trying to remember a way to the West Wing so I could visit Yuri another time.

            A smile came to my face as I thought of him.  He had been so courteous and polite to me.  I remembered the gentle touch of his hands, so light that he might not have even been there!  Had he been another dream, like the knight?

            I rubbed the back of my hands, feeling the warmth he had given off.  No, he was real.  He was very real.  Feeling light-headed with giddy exhaustion, I sat down beneath a painting of a landscape.

            Why exhausted? I wondered.  I had slept before, on the divan, and felt wide-awake as I followed the strains of the piano music.  Why then, did I feel exhausted through-and-through?  What made me so tired?

            It must have been the rush of emotions.  My father had told me once I was too capricious; too quick to change my thoughts and feelings by the moment.  Funny, that a person's emotions could wear one out.  But why not be happy?  There was a companion; someone I could empathize with and understand.

            "Mademoiselle."  Tiny golden hands nudged me.  I opened my eyes to see Zhuzhen.  When had I closed them?  "Mademoiselle, are you alright?"

            "Yes, I am fine," I answered.  It was a lie.  I was blissful.  My smile remained and I could feel the clock's curiosity.  But I kept my solace to myself, knowing there'd only be trouble if I told him.  "How long have I been gone?  It feels like I've been asleep for a long time."

            "It's four in the afternoon," Zhuzhen said.  His little clock face showed the answer and I almost giggled to myself.  Now that I had grown accustomed to the clock's appearance, it was rather comical.  "The master has been very worried," he said, a gentle reprimand in his tone.  There was no anger, and I realized that he had not been upset by my calling Death Emperor a devil.  "He asked us to bring you to him when you were found."

            Zhuzhen was concerned for me.  "I'll go.  Where are we?"

            "Near the library.  Would you like to see it afterwards?"

            "Perhaps."  There was already an idea forming in my mind; I could ask Zhuzhen to lead me to the library, since it was so close to the West Wing.  And then I could read, and perhaps he would leave once I was settled in…and then to the West Wing to see Yuri.  He had seemed so happy at the promise of another visit.  I couldn't disappoint him.

            But now my thoughts turned as I leisurely followed Zhuzhen.  Yuri also was trapped.  But why was he restricted to the West Wing, and no such check on me?  Did Death Emperor think he was more likely to try and escape?

            No.  It must have been to keep us from meeting.  It was obvious in a way.  He was pretending to be the master of this castle when Yuri was.  He knew when we met I would realize he was lying.  And then…but…

            Zhuzhen had been the one to tell me Death Emperor was the master of this castle.  Yet he had not seemed to be lying at the time.  He was sympathetic to me.  So why would he lie?

            Servants were also restricted from the West Wing.  I remembered my conversation with Keith at breakfast.  Did all of them think that Yuri had turned into that demon?  All this time, as Yuri was kept captive in the West Wing?  I was beginning to think Death Emperor was the Devil himself.

            Zhuzhen slipped through inside a slightly ajar door.  I could hear him announce, "Here she is."

            A glance through the small crack told me the situation of the room.  The duster Margarete was angrily glaring at Keith, apparently upset with something he had said.  Death Emperor sat in a red armchair with ripped armrests.  He was the culprit, to tell by the rich fabric he was trying to remove from his claws.  I smiled at his failure to remove the cloth and walked inside.

            Death Emperor watched me steadily, making me speculate about how I looked.  My eyes were perhaps still red and my hair must have mussed up from my sleep on the divan.  I knew my clothes were rumpled.

            "My apologies, mademoiselle.  I did not mean to scare you."  He glanced significantly at Keith, who nodded and led Zhuzhen and Margarete out of the room.  "If anything is troubling you—"

            "I'm fine, Death Emperor."

            He froze.  His expression, as much as there was one, was of surprise.  He hadn't expected that.  "What did you call me?"

            "Death Emperor," I said, repeating the name Yuri had given him.  The devil didn't seem to recognize it.  Had Yuri invented it recently?

            Death Emperor rose from his chair slowly, still gazing at me.  His aura was changing from surprise to apprehension and fear.  Why fear?  It was only a name, yet it seemed to strike him deeply.  Perhaps it was because it told his true nature.  "You may call me that, but—"

            "I'll call you what you are."

            He flinched.  It did hurt him, because now he knew that I knew what he was.  And yet he didn't know how, making him confused.  I had a way to fight my captor.  Satisfied, I left and closed the heavy oak door behind me, finding Margarete, Keith, and Zhuzhen in front of me.

            There was an angry shriek from within the room, a sound only a monster could have made.  It startled and pleased me at the same time.  I had not thought he would get that upset.  "What on earth did you say to him?"  the diminutive feather duster demanded.  "Open the door, now."

            So I did.  The demon was now at the windows, the large curtains rent by his claws.  His amber eyes were full of despair as he gazed at me, making my stomach tumble.

            How could a simple name wound him so deeply?  From all appearances, it was a name that he had not heard before, but simply saying it drove him mad.

            Margarete rushed in and swept up to her master.  She glared at me as she began to tell him not to listen to that 'impudent girl'.  She was so deeply attached to this false master it astounded me.  She was unable to tell the difference between the real and the fake.  With an enchantment, the devil had been able to lie and win the loyalty of all the servants.  Since they had changed, they were unsurprised to find a change in their master.  And, yet, the question that plagued my mind was why a demon would choose to do such a thing.  What were his motives?  What was going on here?

            "Where do you want to go mademoiselle?" Zhuzhen asked warily.

            'The library' started to come out of my mouth, but then I stopped.  Yuri could probably tell me why, but it was too soon.  I should probably wait a while—until after Death Emperor had gone to see him again.  "I feel a bit hungry, actually," I said, and instead we proceeded to the kitchens.

**

**Author's Note:**  Originally, I was going to have a chapter from Yuri's POV, but due to reader response, I feel that is rather inappropriate.  :p  I can't believe it…

Does anyone think Alice is slightly OOC?

**

**Reviewers:**

**Pretearwink:**  Okay, okay.  I updated, although it is a bit short at barely 3 pages.

**Purpledragonchild:**  More added!

**Mina Aino:**  Yuri on the piano is a funny sight, but I think Yuri has some creative talent (to make up for what seems to be a lack of mental talent ^^;).  I try to give him some creative talent in my stories, although usually I make him an artist.  Pianist fits better in this story though.

Just a note, has anyone seen the Enchanted Christmas of Beauty and the Beast?  Anyone?

And what happened to his rude and ambitious self?  We'll see.

**Kupo Stiltzkin:**  ^^;;  I can never update very well…I'm very bad at that…most people think I'm dead by the time I finally update.

**Greyfriars:**  Tiny?  Tiny is cute!  Well, maybe not so much as a footrest, but still…

Yes, Yuri playing piano.  Hey, he is a prince…he has to be a little more cultured ^^.

**Alice Elliot:**  Thank you!


	6. Dinner

**Disclaimer:**  Don't own Shadow Hearts!

**

            An early dinner was served as some cold meat and fruit, along with a bit of wine.  I started on it, hearing whispers in the pantry as the utensils gossiped.  My name was mentioned a few times.  It didn't bother me; it was natural for them to be curious about the only human that they knew of in the castle, and with the events of the day, they must have been wondering about Death Emperor as well.

            Yuria soon came out of the pantry to join the other wineglass.  Noting it was empty, she asked, "Need a refill?"  Before I could answer she had jumped back to the pantry and was enjoining them for a spot more.  She returned filled nearly to the brim and I chuckled.  It was a nice gesture, though unnecessary.

            She had a curious expression on her delicate glass features.  There was a question of some sort.  "Yes?"  The glass's eyes widened, as if surprised.  "What is it?"

            "Oh…oh…nothing."  But after I took a small sip of her contents, she blurted out, "You and the master—you had a row, did you?"

            "I wouldn't call it that."

            "What would you call it then?  Margarete told Michelle, and Nina overheard of course and told it to us—oh, you haven't met her yet, she's a little pincushion, so adorable—but anyway, if you didn't have a row, what happened?  It sounds like the master was quite upset."

            "I—I called him a name."  There was no use trying to lie, and so I didn't.  Instead I kept the truth as vague as possible.  It would be too difficult to explain; I didn't even completely understand what had happened myself.

            She frowned.  "It wasn't 'devil' again, was it?"

            I looked down at her, surprised.  "So you've heard about that too?"

            "Oh, yes, between 'devil' and whatever else you've called him, you've had **her** in a fit all day."  As I picked her up again, she said as if an afterthought, "And he got terribly upset too.  He knows what he looks like; doesn't like being reminded of it though."

            "Does Margarete fancy him?" I asked.

            "Fancy isn't the right word.  They used to be in love.  Or at least, they seemed to be."

            "Seemed to?"

            "Well, they couldn't have been, or the encha—"

            "Yuria!"

            The wineglass jumped, spilling wine on my arm and hastily apologizing in the same second.  Koudelka, the teapot, had just returned from the pantry, and she had a stern expression as she watched us.

            "Are you even thinking, or are you drunk again?!" she yelled, outraged.  The utensils and a teacup were watching from the pantry door, clearly wanting to not get involved.

            "I'm sorry, it just slipped out…"

            "Encha…Enchantment?" I asked, guessing at what the wineglass had meant to say.  "You mean the enchantment on you?"

            "That's enough," Koudelka said firmly.  "Yuria, empty your wine before you get completely drunk."

            Yuria pouted but dragged herself over to the sink and bent down until the wine was pouring out.  Koudelka hopped over to me with an odd gait that came from being awkwardly top-heavy.  Why didn't she want me to know anything?  Did she serve the demon, or had she simply been faithfully serving one of her 'master's' orders?  What did she know?

            "What is it about this enchantment?" I asked her.

            She shook from the base up, an empathetic no.  "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you.  Master Yuri has ordered us not to."

            "Master Yuri?" I echoed.  "Is that his name?"

            "Yes," she said, sounding both startled and curious.  "Didn't he introduce himself?"  I shook my head.  "Idiot," she muttered.  "He seems to have forgotten all his manners."

            _No he hasn't,_ I thought, _Yuri was perfectly polite in the West Wing._  But the problem was Koudelka was referring to the Death Emperor posing as Yuri.  Did no one know the difference?  But maybe there was a chance I could show her how she was wrong.

            "Was he well-mannered before?" I asked.

            She had a hesitant expression, but finally answered.  "He was always polite as a child.  His mother's influence, I guess.  Even after…he always had a sense of manners until his enchantment."  From the spout came a small 'hmph' noise.  "But who can blame him?  Being changed into a demon is not exactly a pleasant experience."

            I almost laughed and changed it into a cough hastily, covering my mouth.  The devil didn't even need an excuse for the disparities in his and Yuri's attitudes, the servants had already given him one!

            Really, it was quite sad when I sobered and thought of the matter seriously.  It would be hard to persuade the servants that they had the wrong master—unless I showed them Yuri, but I had a feeling Death Emperor would not allow that.  So, I had to prove Death Emperor was not Yuri.  This might be very difficult.

            The door to the kitchens opened, and a disgusted Margarete did not so much as look at me as she told Koudelka,

            "Master wants a dinner with the girl tomorrow evening.  Says he wants to apologize to her.  She should probably brush up on her own manners," she said, her voice dripping with venom.

            "Margarete…" Koudelka said, exasperated.  The feather duster had left already and the teapot sighed.  "I knew this wouldn't work.  She's being self-centered, she already knows it's impossible for her."

            I didn't understand exactly what Koudelka was saying.  I was more concentrated on the news the feather duster had brought.  _A dinner with a devil.  What fun, _I thought unhappily.  But maybe, would it give me a chance to prove him false?

            Maybe I should wait a while.  I didn't seem to be trusted by all the servants, least of all Margarete.  I knew Keith and Zhuzhen would hear me out, but what if I couldn't even convince them?  Then Death Emperor would know that I'd been to the West Wing and I'd be in hot water.

            So for now I should just bide my time and wait, I supposed.  Try not to offend Death Emperor too much, so the feather duster would at least listen to me.  If she was in love with the real Yuri, wouldn't it be easiest to convince her that this was not her true master?

            …Why hadn't she seen the demon's deception?

**

**Author's Note:**  Um…think of this as a mini-chapter.  I didn't have a good idea for a lengthy chapter, and I'm not exactly sure where to go right now, but I didn't feel like keeping people waiting for another month or more again.  Hopefully within a week I'll have a decent-sized chapter.

**

**Reviewers:**

**Greyfriars:**  Death Emperor with puppy eyes?  Oh, that is sweet ^^…

Enchanted Christmas was a Disney sequel, and Disney sequels are not really too well known.  They don't seem to get a lot of advertising.

Margarete is a nice duster, but mean too.  ^^

**Kitty:**  I updated within a month!  Yay!  ^^;;;

**MikoNoNyte:**  Actually, when I asked if Alice was ooc I meant the remark I had made about her being capricious.  This is kind of based on what I think her personality was like before her father's death, but I was wondering if people thought I was too off.  I guess I'm fine then.

Yes, she exhibits instant trust to the prisoner/prince.  Ain't it sweet?  ^^

Eh, I've already let the studies slide.  I keep forgetting things.  I got a 20.5/30 this week for a quiz in AP Chem, which was kind of depressing.  I think I might be lowered to a B now.  -.-  Winter blues always plays havoc with my grades right about this time…


	7. A Date with the Devil

**Disclaimer:**  No, I don't own Shadow Hearts or Beauty and the Beast.

**

            The next day I found myself becoming more and more uncertain as it got closer to evening.  I had thought before I shouldn't do anything yet about Death Emperor, but how could I just ignore what Yuri was going through?  I thought of my bible; perhaps I could exorcise a demon?  No, Father hadn't been able to do anything against it.  That was foolish as well.  All I could do was be patient.  Being rash wouldn't help matters any, so I resolved to wait the dinner through and watch for a better opportunity.

            I spent much of the day in idleness, not quite sure what to do; where to go;  who to talk to.  It wasn't a good time to see Yuri.  That frustrated me to no end, despite my usual patience.  Mostly I laid on my bed and waited for the clock to read six o'clock.  Then I could go and get this ordeal over with.

            "Mademoiselle?  Perhaps you should get ready," Keith suggested finally.  I knew what he was implying.  I needed a more formal dress for a dinner with the master, a demon.  I had already taken a bath, so that was out of the way. 

            I rose from the bed after he left and turned to Quihua.  The dresser opened both sides slowly.  Much less dust came out this time.  "You need an evening gown?"

            "Yes."  I pulled out some of the more elaborate dresses.  There was a yellow one, rather pretty, but yellow wasn't a color that agreed with me.  I set the dress on the bed and continued, pulling out all of the long dresses.  I became curious as I realized all the clothes Quihua held were my size.  How could they have anticipated that?  "Was this someone's room?" I asked as I compared two of the dresses side by side.  "Another girl's?"

            "Yes, it was," Quihua said, a bit reluctantly.  "This was Anne's room."

            Her voice was low and quiet.  Anne must have been someone important to her.  I didn't ask anymore as I searched for a suitable dress.

            After a few moments, I chose a burgundy one, simply out of curiosity.  How would a dark red suit blue eyes and white hair?  With only Quihua watching I took off the other dress and slipped into the silky fabric.  I needed some help with the back, and realized Quihua could not possibly help; opening the door a crack, I waited until Keith was passing by again and prayed the unfastened dress wasn't too revealing.

            "Monsieur," I said quietly, "Are there any girls who can fasten buttons?"

            If he saw anything, he didn't show it.  "That might be rather hard...perhaps the knives...no, they can't grasp...I'll ask the forks," he said, still sounding uncertain.  Apparently this problem hadn't occurred to him, but how was I supposed to get dressed with these stubborn buttons?  And all of the fancier dresses were the same way, so I couldn't just choose another one.  I sighed and sat back down on the bed, smoothing the red fabric out on my arms.  It was silly to get worked up about a dress, and yet...I wanted to at least see what I would look like in it.

            Ten minutes later, Keith returned with three forks he had rounded up.  Giggling amongst themselves, the trio buttoned the dress as I sat on the floor, working their way up a chair as they reached the higher buttons.  At times it was a bit awkward, but the girls were all good-natured, and only laughed when they made mistakes.  I soon found myself laughing with them.  In fifteen minutes, they had finished and left.  There were only five minutes left until six.  I placed my cross back around my neck and faced Quihua.

            "Do I look alright?"  I patted my hair uncertainly.  For the first time in quite a while, I had left it down instead of putting it in a braid.

            "You look wonderful," she said.

            I smiled at her and left, meeting with Keith outside.  He led me down the castle halls to where the monster and I would dine.  At first I was surprised when he led us past the kitchen doors; then I realized it would have been foolish to expect to have a fancy dinner in there.

            Keith led me into a large hall, already lit by dozens of other candelabras.  There was a table, long enough to seat fifty.  At one narrow end sat Death Emperor.  I tried to sit at the other end, but he stopped me.

            "Mademoiselle, he doesn't bite," Keith joked, trying to lighten the mood.  I wasn't too sure about that, but I followed him to the other end.  He placed me two chairs down from Death Emperor, which was about twenty chairs too close for comfort.

            Death Emperor was slumped down in his chair; I stiffened even more in mine when I noticed this.  Keith jogged his master's elbow and the devil corrected his posture, taking the hint.

            "Good evening Alice," he said, trying to sound courteous.

            "Good evening...Yuri," I said grudgingly.  Mustn't upset anyone, or else I'd never get the servants to trust me.  Still, it felt wrong to call him 'Yuri', if only because I knew he wasn't the real one.

            "How do you know my name?"

            "Koudelka told me."

            "Yes, since someone couldn't remember introductions," Koudelka's voice called.  I turned and saw her hopping towards us from the middle of the table.

            Death Emperor groaned.  "I meant to, but she fainted on me, if you'll recall."

            "Ah, well--I suppose you have a point," she said with a little laugh.

            "Who else is with us?" I asked curiously.  I had gotten the impression it was only to be Death Emperor and me.  But already both Koudelka and Keith were here, and I knew there were many enchanted pieces of silverware.

            "Hm, it's only us," Koudelka said.  "Master wished for some privacy, and we'll give you that as soon as you have your drinks.  Except--well..."

            "Margarete's here, isn't she?" Keith said.  He had such a dark expression that it surprised me.

            "I think I saw something down there, but I can't be sure."

            "It's her.  That woman," he muttered to himself as he jumped down.  "Margarete!"

            The candelabra's small flames flickered in agitation as he hopped around, searching underneath the table for the feather duster.  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement and turned to see Margarete sneaking out from behind a chair to exit the room.  She probably thought no one had seen her.  I sighed and bent down so I could see Keith.

            "She's gone."

            "Which way did she go?"

            I pointed and the candelabra stormed off, literally fuming.  Koudelka sighed.  "Love...isn't it wonderful?" she said sarcastically.  "Well, you two drink your tea.  I'll make sure he doesn't light something with those candles."

            Death Emperor and I watched as she hopped away.  A bit of tea spilled on the floor when she jumped down from the table.  Seeing the mess, she apologized and then continued hopping away.  As soon as the door closed behind her, I could hear her strong voice demanding the napkins' attention.

            I chuckled.  "She seems intimidating."

            "You should've seen her before she had Halley," Death Emperor said.  "Mad woman.  He toned her down a bit."

            "Her son...?"  I glanced at Death Emperor, wondering how he would know this; or was he simply making it up?

            "He's a teacup, like the other children she takes care of.  He's the only one who's actually related to her though," he explained.  The devil shifted in his chair, thinking.  "But I asked you to dinner to talk about something else."

            I waited for him to tell me what, knowing he'd answer soon.  It probably had to do with our meeting yesterday.

            "Why...did you call me 'Death Emperor' yesterday?"

            There was no way I could tell him the real reason, so I lied.  "I thought it suited you."

            "But why?"

            I shrugged, puzzled. Why did he keep asking?  Had it really hurt him that much?  "I was mad.  I wasn't really thinking."

            After my answer he sat back in his chair, visibly relaxed.  I wasn't sure quite why.  He seemed to have been more concerned about my reasons than the name.

            After tea, we started on the food.  For a formal dinner, it was a bit bare; but then, the servants must have trouble putting together a good dinner when they were enchanted.

            Death Emperor was obviously putting on a show.  Etiquette simply didn't come naturally to him, like it had to Yuri; he made slips quite often, showing his arrogance.

            Still...for what I had done yesterday, he gave no sign of anger or hatred.  Almost as if he comprehended why I had done it...

            'I still don't understand.  What's going on here?  What is this demon doing here in the first place?'

            I continued talking with Death Emperor, although it wasn't long until there was nothing more to say and nothing more to eat.  Then there was an awkward silence until the demon rose and wished me a good night.  I wished him the same and watched as he left.

            As Keith led me back to my room, I stopped for a moment when I spotted a full-length mirror and the unfamiliar girl standing inside.  The candelabra stopped, seeing my distraction.  I only kept him waiting for a few seconds as I scanned my appearance, the gold cross on top of the burgundy fabric, and the white hair cascading over my shoulders.  Then I continued walking with him, with one silly thought in my head: what would Yuri think of this dress?

**

**Reviewers:**

**MikoNoNyte:**  Hm, I guess only you saw the last chapter.  ^^;;  Did you like the Disney movie?  I think it's cute; but then, I've always liked the princesses.

Margarete is simply jealous.  A jealous Margarete is a scary thing.


	8. Caught

**Disclaimer:**  Don't own Shadow Hearts' characters and don't own the Beauty and the Beast storyline.

**

            The forks were busy cleaning in the kitchen, Keith told me; instead there were two knives.  They were less giddy and more efficient as they pushed each button through the hole.  Unlike the other utensils, they talked seldom, even when I tried initiating the conversation.

            The fabric easily dropped from my shoulders when they were done.  It was just a bit loose on my small frame.  Reluctantly I put it back on its hanger and gave it back to Quihua.  Now I put on a loose nightdress of simple blue fabric.

            Crawling into the bed, I sank into the soft mattress and curled up under the warm blankets.  My eyes closed as I tried to go to sleep, then fluttered open.  "Quihua?"

            "Yes?" the dresser yawned.

            "Why is the castle enchanted?  Can I...know that?"  After all, Koudelka had been yelling at Yuria the day before for trying to tell me about it.

            "Master Yuri was asked by a woman for shelter," Quihua said.  "It was winter...Christmas Eve.  He refused, and we all found out that the old woman was a witch.  The hard way, I'm afraid."

            He refused to give a woman shelter?  During winter?  That didn't seem at all like Yuri...why would anyone be so cold?

            It sounded like what Death Emperor had done, locking up my father in a damp prison.  He could have died in there, probably would have if Philippe had not returned home.

            Was Father alright?  My heart seemed to tighten as I remembered how ill he had been in the prison.  But he had been home since yesterday morning.  Father was probably resting in bed, already recovering.  I hoped the winter's onset of cold would not keep him sick too long.

            "Miss Alice?  Are you awake?" Quihua whispered.

            "Yes.  I...why did he do that?"

            "Don't know.  I'm not sure," the dresser answered.  Her voice betrayed a slight reluctance, and I realized she was not telling me the truth.  Would anyone give me that here?  "You'll have to ask the master."

            They seemed afraid to tell me anything the master would not.  I sighed and rolled onto my side, away from the dresser's watch.

            "Goodnight Quihua," I murmured.

            "Goodnight," she answered.

            I said a prayer before I slept, for both my father and myself.  Then I nuzzled my face into the pillows and hoped for an answer.

**

            In the morning I woke up to cold fabric brushing my toes.  I sat up and then was knocked back down by a certain footrest that nuzzled me with its tassel.  "Good morning Tiny," I said.

            "Tiny!  Where are you?"

            "Tiny!  Here boy!"

            It was the children I had met the first day.  Holding Tiny, I called out, "He's in here."

            The two small tea cups hopped inside, delighted to see their dog.  Too small to jump on the bed, they waited patiently as I put the footrest down, then hopped on top of him.  "C'mon boy, let's go!" Joshua shouted.

            Tiny was shaking with excitement before he bounded off, both teacups being jostled around on his back.  They didn't seem at all scared of the prospect of falling off; then again, both of the small cups had chips, so they had probably taken a few tumbles already.

            I closed the door behind them and took off the blue shift, exchanging it for my original clothes, which had been cleaned recently.  It was a simple blue dress, but I felt more comfortable in it than in the other clothes.  They were softer, and nicer-looking; but now my mind was on the fact that this had been another woman's room, and another woman's clothes.  It simply seemed odd.

            Breakfast was some pain perdu, which I enjoyed very much.  Yuria talked to me, making small chat as I finished the bread.

            "You had a good evening yesterday, I hope?" Yuria asked, reminding me of the dinner.

            "Oh--yes."

            The wineglass was watching me closely, frowning.  "Is something wrong? You don't seem at all happy."

            "Should I?  I'm a prisoner."

            "Please don't think of it like that.  We've been treating you as a guest--"

            "That doesn't change the fact I'm being kept against my will."

            Yuria was silent as I cleaned up my plate and brought it over to the sink.  A rag began to wipe across it, washing away the rich syrup.

            Why were they treating me as a guest, anyway?  Death Emperor had taken me as a prisoner, why hadn't he locked me up in a cell?

            Zhuzhen's voice entered the kitchen.  "Good morning Yuria, Miss Alice."

            The demon was treating me as a guest...it almost seemed like he was trying to make me like him.  "Please don't call me miss," I told the clock without turning to him.

            He was puzzled; I could tell that without even looking at him.  There was silence again.  He was probably watching Yuria for any clues and she was probably clueless as well.  "What would you like to be called?"

            "Just Alice."

            "I was wondering if you were still interested in seeing the rest of the castle, Alice."

            Right.  Our tour had been interrupted two days earlier by Death Emperor.  "Actually...could I see the library?"

            "Of course," he said, beaming.  His face read half past nine as he led me through the hallway.  Along the way he showed a parlor I had not seen before and a few other rooms.  He kept the descriptions short today, unlike the tour of two days ago.  I suppose he knew I wanted to get there quickly.  "You like books, don't you?"

            "Yes, I like them," I answered.  "Especially romances."

            "Keith likes romances as well," Zhuzhen remarked.  "Except he doesn't read now, since he has a tendency to burn books."

            The candelabra did seem the type who might enjoy a good romance.  "Does the library have romances?"

            "Plenty of them.  Anne loved romances as well."

            That Anne again.  Who was she? I wondered.  Well, it would do no harm to ask.  "Quihua mentioned that I'm using her room.  Who was she?"

            "She was Master Yuri's mother."

            I had not expected that kind of answer.  I had thought perhaps a sister or a cousin, maybe even a wife...a mother?  Yuri's mother?            "And...she's dead?"

            "Yes," Zhuzhen said shortly, as if there was nothing more to be said.

            "How...and when?" I asked.  I felt a bit light-headed with the surprise.

            "She fell ill when Master Yuri was nearly nine.  She lingered for six months before passing on."

            His voice was calm, and yet I could sense a sorrow within him that I was digging up, reviving.  "I'm sorry," I said, "I shouldn't have asked."

            He shook his head.  "It's only natural to be curious."

            The servants really were kind, even when I said such stupid things.  It was only Death Emperor I didn't like...and that question of why he would want me to like him...

            "We're here," Zhuzhen asked, standing outside large oak doors.  Slowly I pushed them in and walked inside.

            The room was darkened, so I saw very little.  But I got the impression that it was a very large room and I felt almost both excited and, for some reason, nervous.  With Zhuzhen, I walked up to the curtains.  I was only able to see them because they were slightly parted, showing a small sliver of light.  I pulled on one side and opened that, then walked over to the other side--these curtains were the largest I'd ever seen, perhaps ten feet wide--and pulled that aside too.

            The library was filled with books, sorted into shelves that reached up to the high ceiling.  There were ladders twenty feet long to reach all of the books.  On the top of the ceiling, there was an image of a cherub in the center, and other angels circling it.  It seemed like there must be hundreds, if not thousands of books.

            "It's wonderful," I breathed.

            Zhuzhen seemed pleased to see me so happy.  The clock followed me as I walked alongside the shelves.  Lightly I traced my fingers over the wood.  I gazed at the books--there were so many I lost myself in the number, and almost forgot why I had come.

            I cautiously removed a green book from the shelves, afraid of ruining its precious cover.  I opened it to discover it was romance; but for some reason I didn't feel like reading it.  Instead I put it back and chose another book, a dry tome of history.  I curled up in a pouffy armchair and pretended I was fascinated by the old wars and dead rulers.

            Zhuzhen lingered in the library, keeping an eye on me for a half hour.  As I reached page fifty he finally left.  I stayed on for a good fifteen minutes, knowing if he came back too soon and found me missing he'd probably be able to find me.  After a last cautious check, I slipped out of the large doors and looked around.  Now I had to somehow find my way back to the West Wing.

            My heart was beating quickly.  If Death Emperor caught me, I would be in such trouble I didn't even want to think about it.  Although, I did start wondering how he would punish me.  At the least, he might make me stay in Anne's room, and maybe not give me food.  My thoughts of his extreme actions made me shiver.  Death Emperor could do plenty of things to make me regret this.

            I came across a painting of a rolling meadow with a field of flowers.  This landscape, at least, was familiar, and now I knew how to get to the West Wing.  I was rather pleased with myself for remembering.

            Yuri was not there when I first came in.  "Yuri?" I called softly.  There was no answer.  Puzzled, I sat on the piano bench and felt a light tap on my shoulder.  He was standing over me, smiling.

            "Do you like playing piano?"

            "I was looking for you," I said.  "Were you hiding?"

            He smiled in a mysterious way.  "Maybe, or maybe you weren't looking hard enough for me."  Yuri laughed, seeing my baffled expression.  "But you've found me."  He sat down on the other side of the bench, far enough away to not perturb me.  He was a gentleman, in the simple way that he seemed to understand what would make me comfortable.

            Yuri put his hands on the piano and started the same song as he had the first time.  It was no longer sad though; the ending was changed in some slight way to be more cheerful.  Did his playing reflect his mood?  Was he really happy that I had come back?  I hummed to the music as he continued playing.

            "Do you sing?"

            "Oh--I used to sing in a choir.  That was before Papa and I came here."

            "There are words to the music."  He smiled, the intent clear in his dark brown eyes before he asked, "Do you want to sing?"

            Nervous, I blustered, "No."

            "No?"

            "No, I'm not that good."  I felt so embarrassed, though I wasn't sure why.  Even if I had done a horrible performance, he probably wouldn't have said anything rude.  But I felt he might be expecting more of me.

            He kept his face neutral, though I could sense some disappointment.  "Alright.  Do you want to play?"

            "I need to talk to you, Yuri," I said.

            He left off talking about playing or singing.  He shut the piano and faced me.  "Did Death Emperor do something?"

            "Why does everyone think he's you?" I blurted out.  "Does it have something to do with the enchantment?"

            Yuri appeared very surprised for a second.  Then his eyebrows settled back down and very simply, he nodded.  He did not say anything, did not explain anymore.  Perhaps he didn't know any more than that.

            "There has to be some way to show them he's not you though," I said.  "Do you know anything I could say--to convince them...?"

            His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.  The action startled me, but it didn't hurt at all.  He was actually quite gentle, though quick.  I paid attention as he told me, very clearly, "Don't say anything."

            I didn't understand and looked at him strangely.  "Don't say anything?"

            "No.  Sorry," he said, loosing his grip on my arm.  "I just don't want you to get in trouble.  Death Emperor would find out very quickly.  Besides, there's only a little more time left."

            "A little more...?"

            "The enchantment was limited to ten years," he explained.  "It's the tenth year."

            "And once it's over, you're free?..."  The man, his face a mix of Russian and Asian features, nodded.  I wondered just how he had managed to go through ten years all alone and trapped.  He must have been very strong.  "How much time is left?"

            "It will be over on Christmas Eve."  Yuri directed his gaze to the window.  "It's already snowing."  He looked at me closely.  "I don't want you to get in trouble Alice.  I'll be free soon anyway."

            "That's good to know," I said, relieved.  Freedom from a ten-year-old enchantment...what a Christmas gift.  The date reminded me of the story Quihua had told me though.  "Why is there an enchantment, anyway?"

            "I refused a woman shelter on Christmas Eve."  I was surprised.  The story Quihua had told me was actually true?

            "But--why?"

            For a few seconds, Yuri's expression shifted between different emotions.  First his eyes narrowed in anger and then they turned regretful.  He reined himself in.  "I've never liked Christmas.  It was my mother's holiday--my father wasn't Christian."

            His mother...Anne.  Quihua and Zhuzhen had both been so sad talking about her death; it must be horrible for Yuri to even think of it.  "I'm sorry," I said quickly.  "Forget I asked."

            The young man smiled softly and touched my hand.  There was a curious feeling--as if his skin was as thin as eggshell, and if I pressed hard enough against it, it would break.  "I want to tell you so you understand," he said.  "She died at Christmastime.  I always hated it afterwards for that.  I hated when the snow began to fall, because it was falling when she passed away."

            My eyes were beginning to tear.  I felt ashamed--how could I cry when he wasn't?--and looked away from him, at the fresh blanket of snow.  "Do you hate it now?"

            "No, not really.  I'm almost glad to see it," he told me, following my eyes.  "Because this time I know it will all end soon."

            I supposed he was right.  In two months, it would be Christmas Eve, and the enchantment on this castle would end...and everyone would finally recognize their true master.  And...I had something to look forward to as well, didn't I?  Yuri would surely not keep me prisoner.  He would let me go back to my father.

            The nobleman suddenly stood, looking outside the door.  "You should go soon," he told me.  "I have a feeling Death Emperor may come soon, he wasn't here yesterday or the day before."

            Surprised by his change of mood, I nodded.  "I'll come again," I promised.

            "Go before he comes," he said urgently.

            Placing my hand on the door handle, I turned back to look at him one last time before opening the door and walking through.  I was about to close it when I heard claws on the stone floor.  Death Emperor was only twenty paces away from me, staring at me with burning eyes.  The door was still open and my hand was on it; I was caught.    I looked inside to warn Yuri, but he had already disappeared.

            It was only me and the demon.

**

**Author's Note:**  First, much thanks to Kim for being the guinea pig (or beta reader ^^).

For anyone wondering what Alice was eating at breakfast, pain perdu is "lost bread".  Supposed to be what the French call French toast, at least according to my mom.  .

The storyline is going to be a bit faster than the Disney version, mostly because I caught a contradiction in the Disney movies and to keep that contradiction out of this one…I have to have the enchantment end earlier.

**

**Reviewers:**

**Manda:**  .  I can't exactly answer that question without spoiling something.

Oh, alright.  I think you're the first person to catch it.  Though I'm not sure.  I forgot whether I told Kim or she guessed.  Anyway, Death Emperor and Yuri are not completely separate entities.  That answer your question?

**Greyfriars:**  Breed teacups?  Wow, that'd be interesting to see.  (But…how exactly would that work?)

**MikoNoNyte:**  Ah, Kim, I almost forgot your review!  ^^;;;

Well, I fixed Quihua in that chapter, though it's still wrong in every other one.  I just don't like that spelling, it's like .  (Oh well.  I also hated the pronunciation of Tidus, but I'm still wrong.)

No, no, DE doesn't bite.  Or Alice would whack him with her bible.  Which she might do anyway.  Though I'd like to see Yuri's thoughts on that dress.

Ah grammar.  ^^;;;  Well, that's why I asked you to beta this chapter.  Thanks for correcting me on the second half's grammar.  (That was **really** bad.)

Yes, Alice likes (perhaps 'fancies' ^^) Yuri.  Can you blame her?

Small, well, this chapter might be the longest for Beauty and the Beast (though short by Shadow Soul standards and miniature by Devil's Masks -.-).

And I just realized I've completely left Margarete and Keith out of this chapter.  Well, maybe they'll reappear in the next.


	9. Runaway

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Shadow Hearts or Beauty and the Beast.

**

            "What were you doing?" Death Emperor growled.

            If I had thought him scary before, now he was menacing as he stepped forward.  I quickly shut the door, but I knew it'd do little to repair the situation.  At least Yuri would be kept out of this.  "I was just…looking—"

            "Do you realize what you could've done!" he yelled.

            I shook my head frantically.  I took a step back, ready to run.  He saw my intent and growled, deep in his throat.  His purple cloak ripped to shreds as two huge bat wings burst from his back.  With one flap he crossed the distance between us and grabbed my arm.  His sharp claws dug into my skin.

            "Stop it—you're hurting me!" I cried out as I felt blood being drawn.

            "I told you never to go in the West Wing!" he bellowed.  "And you disobeyed me!"  The knife-like bone dug deeper into my skin as his grip tightened.  My arm felt like it was about to break as his hold grew stronger.  Was he trying to break my arm on purpose?

            "Stop it, stop it!"  Frightened, I went to the first spell that came to my mind.  I had only used it against malicious spirits, but a demon should be close enough.  I held my hand in front of the features of his skull.  "**Blessed Light**!"

            Though I didn't have my bible, casting it directly at his face hurt him enough for him to roar in pain and drop my arm.  I ran as quickly as I could, sure that once he recovered he would kill me, if he hadn't been planning to before.  I had really done it now.

            "Mademoiselle!"  Keith was hopping into the hallway.  He must have been drawn by our echoing voices.  "Mademoiselle, where are you going?"

            I ran past him without answering.  It didn't seem like Death Emperor was chasing me yet, but I was not going to take any chances.  My arm ached but there was no time to heal it.  No time for anything but to escape.

            Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered it was winter and cold outside, making me pause long enough to snatch up my cloak in the main hall.

            "Mademoiselle!" Zhuzhen called.  "Mademoiselle, stop!"

            "I can't stay," I yelled before pushing one of the large doors open.

            Outside the entire courtyard was covered with snow.  Philippe was still by the gates, munching contentedly on the little green grass remaining.  I quickly untied his reins and pulled on the steel gates.

            "Go Philippe!" I urged, looking back at the castle.  My soul froze at the sight of Death Emperor's burning gaze.  His feet were already stomping into the freshly fallen snow, each claw leaving deep imprints.  Oh God, he was going to murder me.  I dug my heels into the horse's sides.  "Go!"

            He neighed and started off at a full gallop.  I held on tightly as he went faster and faster, gritting my teeth as the pain in my right arm increased.  Finally it was too much and I let go of the reins with my left hand to cast the healing spell required.  My vision turned black and I lurched forward in my seat, nearly falling off.  I felt so weak…it must have been because of the pain.  I leaned close to Philippe's neck as he continued through the woods.  My vision started to swim.  So tired…I didn't realize my exorcist skills had become so rusty…

            The crackling noise of ice breaking woke me up.  Philippe's hooves had broken through a thin sheet of ice and the cold water chilled my legs through to the bone as he struggled to climb out.  He made it to solid ground and I urged him on, shivering at the bitter cold.  Had I fallen asleep?  I was lucky he hadn't thrown me off.  "Good horse," I murmured in a thin voice.

            He knew where home was, right?  Philippe had brought me to the castle, he could bring me back.  It looked like he was going in the right direction…I was only fooling myself.  The woods were an endless stretch of trees to me.  As long as it was away from the castle, that was good enough.  We would reach a village soon.  For now…I wanted to sleep…

            Fatigue had nearly overwhelmed me when I heard the first howl.  My head shot back up, all thoughts of rest forgotten.  There was another howl, then a third.  The sounds were getting closer.  Philippe was already panicking and I knew the wolves were after us.  I looked around wildly, but by the time I saw the first wolf they had us surrounded.

            The stallion reared in fright as a wolf tried to bite at him.  Still exhausted I fell off and landed on the powdery snow.  I stood hastily as two wolves approached me and searched around for a weapon.  There was only a long stick.  I picked it up and swung madly, hitting one of the wolves on the head.  It whimpered and backed off, but the other one was braver—it grabbed the stick in its mouth, its large jaws easily snapping it in half.  I backed away, but a gnarled root tripped me and I fell on the ground again.  The wolf was at my neck in an instant, about to rip out my throat when it was suddenly lifted off the ground.

            Death Emperor gave the wolf a nasty smile before tearing out its own throat and flinging the dying animal to the ground.  The monster screeched, a high-pitched noise that made me cover my ears, and then swooped down into the midst of the pack.

            I hurried over to Philippe.  He had somehow got his reins caught around the limb of a tree and I freed him.  He was still in a fright, though mostly uninjured, and I murmured soothing words to calm him down.

            Death Emperor fought like a demon—fitting since he was one, but still a terrifying sight to behold.  The wolves tried to take him down as a group, biting and clawing.  Some of the wolves pounced on his back and tore at his wings, but one by one he rent each canine apart.  He ripped one wolf apart at the torso, a physical feat I would have considered impossible even for him.  I was too astonished at the sight to consider being sickened.  The snow was being stained a dark red, the color becoming deeper as more wolves died.

            The fight was over in a matter of minutes.  Carcasses littered the small clearing and Death Emperor stood over them, triumphant.  He really was deserving of the name.  He seemed truly the ruler of death and destruction.

            He stepped towards me and I stepped back, remembering how angry he had been before.  And he'd chased me all the way out here.  If it was so easy for him to kill a wolf, it would take only a second to kill me…

            He stumbled.  His own blood, black blood was dripping on the snow.  The wolves had weakened him in their attacks.  Though his mouth opened, only a weak screech came out before he fell forward.  The demon was unconscious.  Good.  That meant he couldn't chase me any farther.  I turned to mount Philippe, then paused and looked back at the fallen monster.

            Death Emperor had chased me…but he had also saved me from the wolves.  He might have done it just so he would have the opportunity to end my life, but something in his eyes…I leaned forward into Philippe's neck.  Was I actually going to help a demon?

            If he had been trying to help me…Only God knew why he would want to help me, but if he had…then I needed to help him.  "Please God, let me be right," I whispered before approaching the gray demon.  I hoped I wasn't helping someone who'd kill me later anyways.

            He was surprisingly light for his size, and I managed to drape his body out over Philippe.  I paused before taking off my cloak and covering him with it.  He had ripped his own cloak earlier, and I doubted being completely naked in the middle of winter was pleasant, even for a demon.  As the wind blew, I began shivering but resolutely ignored it.

            "Come on Philippe," I said, lightly pulling on the reins.  The horse neighed, perhaps questioning his odd load, before following me.

            The trip back to the castle was an arduous one.  The snow was falling down faster, the drifts rising with each minute it seemed.  My inexplicable fatigue grew with each step.  It was so cold.  But the snow was so soft.  Maybe I should rest a moment…no.  I shook my head and looked down at my feet.  As long as I put one foot in front of the other, I would be fine.  Just one foot…and then another…the castle couldn't be too far…

            But it was so far.  And it was so cold.  I looked enviously at the blue cloak covering the demon's back.  It was mine, after all.  And it was his fault his was ripped, throwing a temper tantrum like that.  But I had made him mad by going in the West Wing when he'd told me not to.  But I was right to go into the West Wing because Yuri was all alone in there.

            For some reason, I couldn't justify taking back the cloak to myself.  So instead I tried making myself think I was warm.  I pretended I was at home with Father, sitting next to the fireplace.  I had my thick blue blanket wrapped around me and I was drinking some tea.  Yes, that was very warm…

            "Miss Alice is back, and—is Master Yuri alright?!"

            My head shot up as I heard the voice.  It was one of the little teacups.  Sharon.  Why was she asking me about Yuri?  Oh, that's right.  They thought Death Emperor was Yuri.

            I looked at Death Emperor.  Some of his black blood was seeping into my cloak, which I resented very much.  It had better not stain.  "He's alive," I answered.  I couldn't tell much more.

            "Bring him in," Koudelka urged as I led Philippe in the courtyard.  I wondered if she had any tea.  But it must be cold by now since she'd been standing outside.

            Unthinkingly I led Philippe into the main hall.  When I realized what I had done I only shrugged.  Less distance to carry the demon.  I took Death Emperor off of the horse's back and dropped him unceremoniously on the rug, where little snowflakes had gathered.  Keith and Zhuzhen worked together to close the door and shut out the wind.  Margarete was already at the monster's side.

            "He's alive alright, but he looks like someone tore him apart."  The feather duster glared at me.  "What did you do to him?"

            "Not now, Margarete, you know she couldn't have done that," the candelabra exclaimed, exasperated.  "He's cold, we need to get him warmed up.  I'll start a fire in the library.  You must be cold too," he said to me.

            I shook my head, confused.  "But it's so hot in here."  It felt almost like an oven.  Why did they want to make it hotter, to burn me alive?

            Now most of the objects were looking at me in puzzlement.  "Mademoiselle, the doors have been open for hours.  It is frigid in here," Keith told me plainly.  "You have only a dress on, and the skirt looks damp.  I cannot see how you could possibly be warm, let alone hot."

            "It's too hot," I insisted.  I shivered suddenly, as if the candelabra's reminder had brought back all the cold from before.  But then it felt hot again, like I was seated right next to a roaring fire.  The candelabra and the feather duster were beginning to blur.

            "Alice, you need to sit down," the old clock said.  "I think you have a fever—Alice?"

            This place was an oven.  It was a hell.  I was on fire.  "I don't feel so well," I whispered.  Then my knees buckled, and I collapsed on the hard stone floor.  The last thing I heard was my name being called by Yuria and the teacups.

**

**Author's Note: **So the wolf scene was altered a bit from the Disney version.  And Belle never hit the Beast with a Blessed Light.  She didn't fall ill either.  But I thought, what the heck.  ^_^

**

**Reviewers:**

**Elf Fanatic Lark:**  Yep, pissed off Death Emperor.  He doesn't actually do too much though, like Beast doesn't do that much for being angry.  Besides scare Alice out of her wits.

**MikoNoNyte:**  Forks cleaning the kitchen is kind of odd…didn't quite realize that when I first posted.  Hm, what jobs would they do?  They could pick up bits of food…

Well, what has Yuri done so far?  Been very polite for someone who's been so lonely, been very nice to her.  What has Death Emperor done?  Locked up her father, separated her from him, threatened to lock her up…I think she has a good reason for being a little biased.

Yes, DE is the one who did 'it'.

I like that mental image of Alice.  For some reason it never popped in my mind, but it's cute.

I can just picture Lumiere sending up the whole library in flames after enjoying a particularly, um, amorous scene.  A little too excited…although that's a more Shadow Hearts-type moment.  ^_^

Ack!  I still have spelling and grammar issues?  .


	10. Fever Dreams

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own anything from Shadow Hearts or Beauty and the Beast.

**

            I awoke to find myself in the wooden arms of a coat hanger.  "Mister Zhen?"  I asked quietly.  Maybe too quietly, because he didn't answer me.  Instead he laid me down on a soft fabric, near a crackling fire.  Keith stood in front of the fireplace, building the fire with his own flame.  His gold polish blurred as everything swam for a few seconds.

            I felt something at my side and looked at Zhuzhen.  He was drawing one edge of the blanket over me.  I felt uncomfortably warm, but at the same time I was shivering violently, so I didn't protest.

            "Hey, miss," a boy's voice said.  It was one of the teacups, the one with all the little chips in his rim.  What was his name again…?  Chip—no, not Chip.  That had been a joke.  Halley.  "I've got some tea if you want any."

            "That would be lovely," I heard my voice say.  I tilted my head toward him and he leaned forward slightly to let the drink flow in, past my lips.  It was nice and hot.  It must have just been made.  A few drops fell on the rug when my head fell back to the blue blanket.

            "Come on, hurry it up," Koudelka's voice was ordering.  "Someone get the bandages, I'll get the water ready."

            "Bandages?" I asked.  My head hurt too much to look at what was going on.

            "For the master.  He's pretty hurt," Halley said.  "It looks like some wolves got at him."

            I nodded.  "There were wolves…and they were trying to attack me…and then he killed them…"

            The teacup nodded.  "Thought so," he said.  "I didn't think any wolves would have been stupid enough to pick a fight with him."

            He was probably right.  Who would want to mess with a demon?  Especially one with claws and wings and that horrid skull face.  I shuddered from the mere thought of it.  And here I had gone and gotten him mad.  I was stupider than a wolf.  What a poor excuse for an exorcist I was.

            "He's going to kill me," I whimpered, feeling very sorry for myself.  "He's going to kill me when he wakes up…"

            "Why would he kill you?" the teacup asked.  "He just saved you, didn't he?"

            "He just wanted to be the one to kill me."

            "The master's not like that," another voice said.  The candelabra was looking at me now, very concerned at my behavior.  "Why would you think that?"

            I held out my right arm, pulling back the sleeve.  It was healed, but the deep gashes he had made could still be seen as stark white streaks.  "Look."

            The candelabra was silent for a few moments.  "…So that's why you ran," he said finally.

            I nodded.  "H-he was so mad at me…I got really scared…"

            "What did you do to make him mad?" a dry female voice asked.  Though I couldn't see her, I guessed it to be the feather duster, probably standing between Death Emperor and me.

            "I…I went in the West Wing…"

            I could hear her snort.  "So you deliberately disobey him, then you get frightened when he gets mad.  Like you didn't expect him to be angry?"

            "That's no excuse for harming her," Keith said sharply.  There was a warning to Margarete in his tone.  He wanted her to shut up.  "He shouldn't have hurt her.  But why, mademoiselle, why did you go in the West Wing?"

            "I wanted to cheer Yuri up…he was all alone for so many years…"

            "What are you talking about?" Margarete asked, sounding puzzled.  "She must be hallucinating."

            I realized belatedly my mistake.  They didn't know about Yuri.  They were under the demon's spell.  I closed my mouth, knowing it would be better if they thought it only a fever dream.

            "She's still very pale," Keith said.  "Probably doesn't know what she's saying."

            "You sound sorry for her,"  Margarete said scathingly.

            "And you," the candelabra returned, "are always sorry for your dear master."  This time there was no mistaking the cutting tone in his voice, the sarcasm that filled the word 'dear'.  He was not the kind to lose his temper, but everyone in the room knew he had lost patience with her.

            The feather duster gave a small 'hmph' before I heard her sweep out of the room.  Keith turned back to the fireplace, his flames growing in intensity.  He was very upset.

            "I'm sorry," I whispered.  My idiocy had started this, I should have been more careful in going to the West Wing.  If I had, Death Emperor wouldn't have caught me…he wouldn't be hurt…and Margarete wouldn't be in such a foul mood.

            Keith shook his head.  "Margarete would be jealous of any girl that came to the castle.  She is so infatuated with him," he said, his frustration rising as he spoke, "Even though she knows…"  He shook his head again, folding his arms, the two smaller candlesticks.  "Is there anything else I am needed for, Koudelka?"

            "No.  Go after Margarete if you want," the teapot told him.

            "To hell with her," the candelabra answered before leaving the room.

            I was silent after they left.  Not only had I gotten Death Emperor mad at me, but now Margarete and Keith were mad at each other.  The chipped teacup saw my glum expression and hastily said, "Don't worry, they get in spats like this all the time.  They'll patch things up eventually."

            "Eventually?"

            "Well…" he hesitated.  "Depending on how mad Keith is, it could take a few hours…maybe a few weeks.  He's stubborn sometimes."

            Now I felt worse.

            "It's not that bad, really.  At least they keep their fights mostly between each other."

            No, that wasn't helping either.

            "I'm sure he'll calm down soon," Zhuzhen said sagely.  "Keith isn't one to be hot-headed."

            "I hope so," I said.  I felt thirsty again and looked at Halley.  "Is there any tea left?"

            "Yeah," he answered, coming closer so I could drink.  The tea was still warm, though it was quickly cooling.  I drank the remainder and then shivered.  I pulled the blanket closer around me before falling asleep.

            I drifted back to consciousness when I heard a loud moan.

            "Hold still, you're still injured," Koudelka said.  There was a louder moan and then the sharp reprimand, "Do you listen at all?  Hold still!"

            "But it hurts!" Death Emperor's voice whined.

            "Yes, well, you shouldn't have scared her off like that in the first place.  So just shut up and lie still."  There was silence for a moment as I wondered at Koudelka being so bold to the demon.  "There.  That's not so bad, now is it?"

            "It's as bad as ever."

            "Well, you could keep your mouth shut then so just keep quiet a little longer.  It'll only take a few more minutes."

            Slowly, so I wouldn't attract anyone's attention, I turned my head while underneath the blanket and took a cautious peek out.  Death Emperor was propped up in an armchair as Zhen and Zhuzhen tried to tend to his wounds.  Koudelka was pouring out steaming hot water for the bandages to be cleaned in.  The skull's gaze moved to the blanket and I tried hard not to move.  "I should have just let the wolves eat her up," he said darkly.

            "Don't say things like that.  You scared her in the first place—"

            "She disobeyed me in the first place!"

            "I don't blame her," Koudelka said in a low voice, bending over to pour out more water.

            Death Emperor had heard.  "What, Koudelka?"

            "You haven't given her any reason to think that the wing should be off-limits.  Perhaps if you explained—"

            "I shouldn't have to explain," he hissed.  "I said it was off-limits.  If that isn't good enough for her—"

            "It's not good enough for anyone!"  I flinched as Koudelka began yelling.  Not another row, why was everyone fighting so much?  "It is unhealthy for you to hole yourself up in that room so much!  It has been nearly fifteen years Yuri, why are you still fixated on that goddamned room?"

            There was a loud crack as Death Emperor pounded on the table, effectively reducing it to four legs and a shattered top.  He had risen out of his armchair, his body shaking with anger.  I thought for one terrifying moment that he would shatter Koudelka as well and make her only shards of glass on the red rug.  With an angry hiss and one flap of his wings, he stalked out of the room, paying no mind to his injuries, though they had to be painful.

            "Koudelka," Zhuzhen said.

            "He's learned nothing from being cursed," she said angrily.  "If he locks himself in that room one more time, I swear I will set fire to it."

            "Um…if I'm not mistaken," a voice from the coat hanger said, "Miss Alice is awake."

            I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone noticed the quivering lump under the blanket that was me.  Zhuzhen walked over to the small gap between the blanket and the rug and peered at my eye.  He smiled wryly.  "We've seen too much of his temper to get scared anymore, but you're…"

            I shook my head.  No, I was not used to this at all.  I had argued only a handful of times with my father, only been yelled at two times, once by Wugui and once by Death Emperor, and I was not used to having a demon look at me with murder in his eyes.

            Zhuzhen sighed.  "We can't even make ourselves presentable for company."

            Koudelka hopped over to the edge of the blanket and also peered under.  "I'm sorry about that Alice.  Did you hear the whole thing?"

            I nodded.  "Yes.  I thought—I thought he was going to smash you."

            The teapot actually laughed at the thought.  "No, he wouldn't.  We've gotten into plenty of rows before.  He understands perfectly well he can't hit us, since we would probably break and die."  She was silent for a moment before adding, "I think that's why he hurt you so badly.  He gets frustrated when he can't lash out at something."

            "He does?"  Did that mean I would get hit more, whenever I made him upset?  _I should have just left him in the snow and gone back home._

            "You should have seen him when we were human.  He bit Zhen in the hand once as a child.  Like he was a rabid dog!"

            "Koudelka," Zhen said, sounding a bit worried.

            "No, it's fine.  She already knows Yuri's not perfect.  Nowhere near it in fact.  She should understand what she's being dragged into."

            "Will he be upset long?" I asked.

            "Seeing as he's pissed as hell, yes.  My god, he's probably already in the West Wing.  Again."  Koudelka looked around, considering.  "Do you think Keith would help burn it down?"

            "Considering his mood," Zhuzhen said, "You might have a chance."

            "You shouldn't," I said.

            "Why not?  He wouldn't be able to hide so much anymore.  We thought he was dead once, he was in there so long."

            "Because—because."

            "Is there something in there?" she asked curiously.  She raised the blanket with her spout to get a better look at me.  "Did you see something in there?"

            She wouldn't believe me, so I shook my head.  "No, it's just…he'd be very upset."

            Koudelka's eyes narrowed.  "What did you see?"

            "Nothing," I insisted.

            "Mm-hm," she said, in a very skeptical tone.  "Well, you're sick, so I guess I'll leave you alone for now.  Later though…"  She trailed off as she hopped back to the kitchen.  I sighed.

            I would tell her if I thought she would believe me…but she probably wouldn't.  It was obvious she believed Death Emperor was Yuri.

            Although one of her comments interested me very much.  About Yuri being violent as a boy.  Along with the story of him shutting out an old woman during a blizzard, the Yuri from before the curse sounded much more like Death Emperor than the prisoner in the West Wing.  The servants had been changed from humans to objects, so it was more than possible that a person could have been changed into a demon.

            Then there were two explanations.  Either all of the servants were under a spell, and Death Emperor was an imposter, and Yuri had become humbler in his punishment…

            Or the servants were correct, and Death Emperor was Yuri, with the same hubris that had earned him the curse in the first place…but then, who—no, what was the prisoner in the West Wing?

**

**Author's Note:**  Here we go with another chapter!  ^_^

**

**Reviewers:**

**MikoNoNyte:**  Hm, how was she spoiled in the last chapter?  But DE is very scary when he's mad.

I never wondered about the Disney version; I thought she just got lucky.  However in this version, Alice was already tired when she went out, and so I figured that it **would** be a bit unbelievable if she didn't get sick.


	11. Father

When I woke up again, Death Emperor had come back and was picking up the pieces of the table he had broken in his earlier rage. He gave a sharp, sudden hiss, pulling back his hand, and heard my gasp. His hollow eyes glared at me; he was still angry.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," I returned, wondering where Koudelka and Zhen and Zhuzhen were. It would be safer with them around.

"Koudelka said you should rest in bed, since you're ill. You are to stay in there until I tell you otherwise, and if illness cannot make you obedient I will see what bars do."

He must have been furious to threaten me with a cell. I bit my lip and nodded, not trusting myself to speak without making him madder.

"Just go," he muttered. He turned his attention back to his hand. A small splinter stuck out of the grey-black palm before he tore it out.

I stood, clutching the blanket to my shoulders, and walked out into the hall. I had a general sense of where I was from the sunrise in the window-on the lower floor, to the right of the main hall. How to get from here to my room, I had no idea.

But I started walking, sure that if I idled Death Emperor would toss me in a cell immediately. As the hallway crossed with another, I turned right and continued.

Within fifteen minutes I was quite lost and starting to feel faint. Everything seemed to be spinning.

"You look sick as a dog."

"Hello, Margarete," I said, greeting her warily. If there was anyone in this castle who'd get me into more trouble than I was already, it'd be the sooty and snooty duster. "Can you please tell me how I can get to my room?"

"You don't want to explore?"

"Margarete, please, I don't feel well. I have to get to my room or-"

"Or?"

"...or Yuri will see me outside my room and toss me into a cell," I said in a small voice. She'd probably call Death Emperor right now, especially if she blamed me for the argument between her and Keith.

"So he's out of the West Wing...and he said that?" she murmured in surprise. "Where is he?"

"Where you left me last night. He seems...very upset about something..."

The duster studied me for a moment, then turned around. "Come on," she said, "Your room is this way." With that she swept to my left, leaving me to follow her.

"Thank you."

Margarete snorted. "I just don't want Master Yuri to regret any rash decisions."

I smiled. Even if the duster was rude, at least she was helpful. I watched her as we navigated the castle halls and noticed a piece of red against her black feathers.

"Do you grow roses in the castle?" I asked.

She turned round with a bemused look. "What brought that on?"

I knelt next to her. "You have a petal on you." Before she could protest I reached in her feathers and plucked out the bright red petal, a bit crumpled. "And it looks like it's fresh, so..."

"No--the garden's been neglected for quite some time--there's more!" she gasped.

I scanned the hall and found two more by a chair's legs. These were also crumpled, more than the first one, as if someone had torn them viciously off of their stem. There was only one other...person...with fingers roaming the castle. It must have been Death Emperor.

Margarete had been unnerved by these other petals. "Come on, quickly," she said. She swished so quickly I had to march to keep up.

"Halley!" she yelled, swooping into the kitchen. I stood outside. I wasn't in the mood to be the center of attention with Margarete's yelling. "Halley! Go take Alice to her room. I have to talk with your mother."

Over rose petals? I shook my head. It seemed so odd.

The battered teacup appeared with a clatter. "Come on, Alice, I'll take you to your room."

"Oh-that's alright, I know my way from here."

"Maybe, but if you faint again someone better be there."

The teacup's comment made me turn red. "I'm feeling a bit better." Still lightheaded, but better.

"Just in case. Margarete will probably bite my head off if I go back. She didn't sound too happy." He stopped his hopping to look back at me. "Did you do something?"

I shook my head and clutched my blanket tighter. "I'm too sick to do anything."

"Probably the master then..."

That must have been it. Since Death Emperor was the only one who could have plucked them, the rose petals must have reminded her about him. She'd seemed worried about him earlier.

Nothing else was said until we reached the bedroom. Then I fell on the bed with a murmur of thanks; Halley called out to Qiuhua before leaving.

I rolled up in the soft blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Only my hair and eyes were out, and for a few minutes I indulged in its warmth and softness. But I wouldn't fall asleep, so with a sigh I reached out for my bible, pulling it close. The bible was opened to Mark.

In this way an hour passed, with me reading as Qiuhua hummed in the background. Then there was a terrible screech. My hand slammed the bible shut as I sat up.

"Oh, no," Qiuhua murmured.

The door flew open with a series of barks and two children's shrieking. Joshua and Sharon tumbled onto the bed and quickly hid in the folds of my blanket.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Everyone's arguing," Sharon answered.

"Over what?" The dresser moved over to us with slow, cautious steps. "How bad is it?" Her answer was a heavy thud and the sound of glass breaking downstairs. Oh, Lord, Death Emperor was really going on a rampage.

Joshua butted in before Sharon could explain: "Koudelka and Margarete said Master Yuri tore the rose!"

This drew a loud gasp from Qiuhua. I wondered why there was such a fuss over a flower. To be sure, roses were beautiful, but...

"And the master got really mad and started saying they had no right to accuse their lord," Sharon finished.

It was apparent from the distant voices that Death Emperor's reasoning hadn't sat too well with Koudelka. If she didn't stop arguing soon though, he might smash her...

"He didn't destroy it, did he?" Qiuhua cried.

"We don't know!"

"Is it really so bad?" I asked.

My intrusion silenced the conversation. Sharon and Joshua looked between Quihua and me, clearly at a loss.

"If he's destroyed it," Quihua said, "The curse is permanent."

"Oh," I gasped. No wonder it was creating such a commotion.

"Once all the petals fall, we'll be stuck like this, forever...but why would master Yuri do that?" the dresser asked herself.

Because he's not the real Yuri. He's a demon.

I realized suddenly that there had been no crashes downstairs for a while. The argument must have ended. "Go see what's going on," Qiuhua directed the two teacups, who hopped back onto Tiny.

How could I even have thought Death Emperor was once human? If he was willing to trap all these people as, as things...my hands clenched into fists. Yuri in the West Wing had been speaking the truth; Death Emperor was a monster who needed to be stopped.

If I could perform an exorcism, maybe it would break the curse. It would at least get rid of him.

"Quihua," I asked, "Do you have a silver bell?"

The dresser hesitated, each of her drawers shivering in its frame as she considered the contents. "Yes, I think I do...I'm just not sure where..."

"Could I look?" I asked. She said nothing, still puzzled it seemed, and I opened a drawer, then another, going through half of them before I found a small silver bell that give a clear, sweet ring when I shook it slightly. "Thank you."

"What are you going to do with it?"

Without holy water, a silver bell would have to be my instrument for an exorcism. But I couldn't tell Quihua that; there was no way the faithful servant would understand. I left the room without responding, wondering where I could find Death Emperor. The answer came swiftly, in the form of Margarete.

"What the hell are you doing out of your room?" she yelled at me. "If he sees you now he's liable to murder you."

"Where is he?"

"Outside, but--"

"Thank you," I answered and walked away before she could say more. My hands were trembling and causing the bell to rattle as I thought of her words. How could I possibly exorcise such a powerful demon? And if he saw my bible and bell, he would know for certain what I was attempting...if I could just surprise him...

I could tell that was going to be impossible when I came to a window. Yesterday's snowfall had not stopped, but had formed a thick layer that covered the earth; I couldn't possibly sneak up on Death Emperor with my boots crunching through all that. But as I turned to go back to my bedroom, a dark figure caught my eye and I stopped. When I pressed forward to the glass and looked out at an angle, I could see Death Emperor. He stood with his back to me, wings pulled in, a large tombstone in front of him.

If that had been all, I would have just continued on my way. But the crown of white on his skull and the drifts of snow on his wings caught my attention. As I watched, he shifted a little, but only a trickle of snow was dislodged; the rest remained, and the pile would only grow larger with time.

"Is something out there?"

I looked down at Koudelka, whose spout was raised towards me expectantly. "No, it's--Yuri," I said. "He's just standing there. I think it's a grave?

"His parents'," Koudelka said simply. "Well, all that snow should cool his temper."

"He's getting covered by it." With another peek out the window I confirmed that yes, Death Emperor remained at the grave.

"Good," the teapot muttered. She was probably still mad at him over the rose, so I let the comment pass and watched him. If Anne was buried there...if she was his mother, it made perfect sense for him to pay his respects. But there was also Yuri in the West Wing and which one was the real one? And what was the other?

I peered at Death Emperor, watching closely the few movements he did make. With only the thin, leathery skin draped over his bones and muscle, it was easy to see how they connected to each other, how they held him up--not well; his wings sagged and he was leaning slightly to one side.  
"He seems sad," I said aloud, and then, "Maybe I should check on him?"

"Maybe you should rest up before you get yourself in trouble again," Koudelka said.

She had a good point. Though I was feeling better from my rest, I was by no means in top shape, and Death Emperor had told me to stay in bed--or be put in a cell.

I watched him lean forward and with a sweep of his arm send more of the white powder flying from the tombstone. His temper was terrible--I knew that well--but from what I had seen and what the servants said, he behaved decently otherwise. And right now, his anger seemed spent, leaving only a deep sadness.

"No, I think I will," I told Koudelka. The teapot simply sighed and wished me luck talking sense into him before she hopped away. I retrieved my cloak from the entrance hall, where it lay on the ground from yesterday. Even with it wrapped tightly around my shoulders, the stiff wind made me shiver. But Death Emperor was not far away; he soon came into sight as I walked around the castle.

He turned as I approached. "Alice," he said, his voice betraying the surprise his face could not show.

"I know you told me to stay in my room," I said quickly, "But I heard the shouting and--and I saw you just standing here--are you fine?"

"No," he said and turned back to the tombstone. Well, that was that, then. At least he hadn't made good on his promise to put me behind bars. That was probably the best I could hope for. I was about to head back inside when he finally said, "Thank you. For asking."

"I don't suppose there's anything I could do to help?" Feeling a little bolder, I approached his side and read the tombstone's inscription:

'Ben Hyuga Anne Hyuga Together in Death, as in Life.'

His head turned slightly towards me, the hollow eyes staring at me. The heavy gaze made me look down at the snow. "Honestly, I'm not sure."

"You didn't really ruin the rose, did you?"

"I did."

My eyes flew up to meet his in surprise. "Then--" My hand tightened on the silver bell in my pocket.

"A few petals," he said quickly, "the rest still remain. I hope its life hasn't been shortened...there's not much time left as is."

"Then why would you damage it?" I asked.

When he looked at me again, I thought he was angry and quickly turned my gaze aside. But he only snorted softly. "That witch never intended the curse to be lifted. She just wanted to torment us with an impossible hope."

"But you still hope."

He laughed. "Because I don't want to see the truth."

"Maybe I can help," I said, "if you'd just tell me more about the curse..."

He shook his head. "Maybe you will help. But it's not something you can just do...there's really no point in talking about it. It happens or it doesn't."

The wind picked up and I shivered, rubbing my arms together. I stiffened when Death Emperor stretched his wings, but he only held them around me, blocking the wind. "Thank you," I said.

"You'd better get inside."

I nodded, but then a thought occurred to me. "Can I ask you, one last thing? I...I know you told me not to go in the West Wing, and I'm sorry I did. But...why is that man in there?"

"What do you mean? You saw someone in there?"

"Yes," I said. "He was playing the piano, that's why I went in the..."

He grabbed my shoulder, the claws lightly digging in. "You saw him? But he's not--he isn't--"

"He's not what?"

I never got an answer; instead Death Emperor picked me up, cradling me in his shoulders, and took off into the air. I bit into my lip so hard it bled and grabbed his bony arms, praying he would not drop me. Now I was in trouble, but how was I to know a simple question would set him off?

He landed only briefly at the entrance and shook my hand off as he wrenched open the door. "Please, please put me down," I whispered quickly, and then as he launched into the air again, unevenly, "don't drop me!" There was a jolt as his feet grasped the railing on the second floor and then he was racing down the hallway towards the West Wing.

Though he held me in his arms, Death Emperor seemed to have forgotten me; when he reached the door he dropped me, not hard but a little roughly, and entered the wing. "Father?" he bellowed.

Father? I looked in the door, uncertain. Surely he couldn't mean the Yuri I'd met! He was old enough to be a father, but he couldn't have a fully grown son...wasn't Death Emperor an adult?

"Father!" Death Emperor tugged the ratty curtains open, flooding the neglected room with light. I couldn't see Yuri anywhere in sight; curious, I took a few steps into the room and stopped at the piano, my hand resting on the keys.

"Yuri?" I asked aloud, and Death Emperor turned to me.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, a little afraid. Given his reaction to me asking about Yuri, I probably shouldn't let him know I wanted to see the young man.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Zhuzhen demanded. I noticed that even as he stood in the doorway, he did not quite enter the room.

Death Emperor ignored the clock's question, instead grabbing the back of a chair and flinging it aside only to reveal more dust and forgotten things. "Where is he...where is he?" the demon growled.

Zhuzhen flung up his metal hands and faced me. "Alice, what has gotten into him?"

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "I mentioned that I saw a man in here."

"Yesterday?" The tick marks in his face bunched together in a frown. "But we'd have seen an intruder."

A high-pitched screech interrupted him as a chess set flew through the air and hit the far wall, pieces scattering over the floor. "Not an intruder," Death Emperor shouted. "Damn the man!"

"Has he finally lost it?" asked Koudelka, her spout poking into the room. Behind her I could see both Chris and Halley, as well as a few spoons and knives nattering at each other.

I felt worn out just watching Death Emperor storm around and sat down on the piano bench. Everything seemed so strange; shouldn't Yuri have been found by now? Though the disarray provided many hiding spaces, Death Emperor was methodically, madly ransacking the room. The din was loud and obnoxious and I closed my eyes, feeling a headache coming on...all I wanted to do was sleep...

I woke up just as I slipped off the bench, too late to catch myself but just in time to see the floor rush up before I hit my head. "Ow! I exclaimed, rubbing my forehead as I sat up. It wasn't just my head hurting, but every part of my body ached and I felt unbearably hot.

"Are you all right?" Zhuzhen asked me. I shook my head.

"No, I...it feels like my fever got worse suddenly...I was feeling better earlier..." I looked up when Death Emperor stood over me. He knelt and gathered my stiff body up in his arms. "I'm not sure I can handle any more flying," I said shakily.

"I'm not flying," he muttered. "I'll take you to your room." As he walked out of the room, I surveyed the destruction; the only thing which hadn't been moved was a glass case which held a vibrant red rose. Before the door closed, I saw one petal fall. 


End file.
